


Give me a reason to hope

by Alex_stories



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Multi, Polyamory, because our people here have a past too, mentions of other minor relationships, messy relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 69,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28008756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_stories/pseuds/Alex_stories
Summary: Many years ago Dina got her revenge but she learned those things don't go unpaid. Abby attempted to get revenge but Ellie prevented her from doing so and took her captive. Now Ellie and Dina need to figure out what to do with her because for some reason they refuse to kill her. Unbeknownst to them, Lev and Yara have escaped Seattle and are being followed.OrWhat if Ellie captured Abby and together with Dina they tried to convince her of an alternative to revenge?
Relationships: Abby/Dina (The Last of Us), Abby/Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Abby/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 106
Kudos: 222





	1. Ellie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic started with the simple question, what if Joel was being tortured in a different area inside that house and Ellie arrived earlier? Then came other questions: what if Dina had gotten the revenge she wanted, how would she be in that case? What if Yara and Lev had reasons to try and escape the seraphites earlier on? All the mess that came after that started there.

When Ellie arrived at the big house and saw that inside there were so many things she knew people were there. She saw backpacks and other things and briefly though she could set these on fire.  _ This could cause a distraction _ , she thought. So she grabbed a couple of backpacks and set them on fire after she took some things from them. The smoke soon drew the attention of a couple of people who seemed to come from somewhere down the stairs. She took them down and then she heard a noise, it sounded like someone yelling and the voice was eerily similar to Joel so she ran towards it. She went down a set of stairs and the voice sounded louder, so she went faster. Then slowly she opened the door. A couple of steps on her left, there were a group of people, all watching as someone was hitting someone else on the floor with a golf club. Time seemed to slow down as she realized with horror that the someone else was Joel. Ellie initially thought about taking these people down but soon realized she wouldn’t be able to so instead she did the next best thing she could think of doing. She threw a bottle to the other side, making them look at that direction, then she ran as fast as possible and before these people could notice or grab her she threw herself in front of Joel before the attacker hit Joel once more. The hit came with force on Ellie’s shoulder and she really felt she must be injured now. 

Whoever was hitting Joel gasped and gave a step back. Then Ellie heard something fall to the ground.

“Get out” said a woman’s voice

“Who the fuck let her in?” said a man’s voice

“Get out” said the woman’s voice again

Ellie ignored her. She hugged Joel even tighter.

“No, Ellie” said Joel, weakly “leave, run”

“No!” screamed Ellie, both to Joel and to whoever this woman was. 

She was trembling in fear, more for Joel than for herself but she knew that these people could just shoot at her and not even dare to look at them because she wanted to fully cover Joel with her body if she could. 

“My problem isn’t with you” said the woman “move”

Strong arms grabbed Ellie but she held Joel as if her life depended on it.

“NO, please don’t hurt him” begged Ellie

“Move!” demanded the woman. 

Ellie held Joel tighter, she was afraid of what this woman could do to him. Joel tried to push her away but he was too hurt and weak to be able to move Ellie away.

“Ellie, go, please” whispered Joel

“No, please, stay with me” begged Ellie to Joel. It was a nightmare, she could not lose him now. Why had it taken her so long to forgive him? Why was this happening now?

The woman tried to separate her from Joel but Ellie was not going to desist. The woman kneeled down and was trying to remove Ellie’s arm from Joel so Ellie looked at her right in her face. She was a big and muscular blonde woman with a very serious face that was definitely intent on murder. Ellie had no chance to resist for long and was desperately crying at this realization.

“Please” she begged to the woman “Please, don’t kill him, please”

The woman stood up and looked down on her, shocked. It was as if something in Ellie’s eyes made her doubt. Ellie was still crying and saw that a man came to them with a gun and pointed it at her, so she turned and covered Joel’s face again and closed her eyes. If this is how she died at least she would not let them take Joel first. Some seconds passed and the shoot did not come. Instead she heard the woman discussing with the people.

"No!" the blond woman shouted "this is not about her"

Other people started shouting and it seemed like they were all talking at the same time.

Tentatively, she looked back. The people there were discussing with the blond woman and they were all too engrossed in the discussion for them to notice what Ellie was doing. Nobody was paying attention to her or Joel. The blonde woman was trying to convince the other guys of something and they all seemed to be tense with each other. Ellie paid no attention to their discussion because she focused on coming out with a plan. Then she saw the golf club on the floor. The blond woman must have dropped it. It was now or never. 

It was probably a bad idea but Ellie tried anyway. She acted as quickly as she could. She just hit the blond in the back of her legs so she started to fall, then she hit the back of her head strongly so she would lose consciousness, she dropped the golf club and took her knife out and before the woman fell to the ground Ellie grabbed her from behind and put the knife on her neck. The woman was heavy but Ellie managed to push her so she was again in front of Joel.

“Get away from us or I’ll kill her!” screamed Ellie

The people there raised their hands and looked confused.

“I said get away!” screamed Ellie

“Just shoot her” said one man with a hat

“No, you can hurt Abby” said another man, stopping the first from shooting.

“What about the other, we can use him” said another man and went to look for someone but then they didn’t find whoever they were looking for, “shit!, he escaped”

  
  


Someone started shooting at the guy who had just complained then someone else shot at another of these guys. They started screaming at each other and saying they needed to leave.

“We can’t leave Abby” said one guy

“We have no choice” said a woman to this guy

“We will rescue her later” said another woman and ran from the shooting

The man looked at the blond woman who was unconscious in Ellie’s arms and then he left. Soon Dina and Jesse appeared at the door, and Tommy after them.

Ellie let the woman go and she fell to the ground.

“Ellie!” said Dina and went to hug her. Ellie hugged her strongly, trembling from the shock of all that had just happened and the effort she used to hold that blond woman. Then Ellie pulled back from Dina and turned to look and to examine Joel. 

"He's still breathing, he's alive" smiled Ellie. Dina kneeled next to her and caressed her back, then she smiled at Ellie.

"What are we gonna do about her?" asked Jesse

"I've got an idea" said Tommy and pointed at her

Ellie stopped him. She pushed him and so, although he shot, the bullet ended going through the roof.

"What are you doing? We saved her and she tried to kill Joel!" shouted Tommy

"Yes but she spared me, saved me from her friends" said Ellie and although she recognized she sounded deranged she was sure she wasn't letting them kill her.

"Then we take her" said Jesse "I heard people coming so we better leave, we don't know if there are more of them here" 

Tommy wasn't happy but he also commented he heard something so they left, taking Joel and the woman Ellie suspected was called Abby. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Me again writing a polyamory thing in the middle of this mess. I know this game is dark and all, and I loved it but I can't help but come up with "what if..." so here is another fic with those questions. I am changing some things and although there will be dark moments, there's comedy too here and there, I swear. Anyway, although this will take some time to happen, there will be Abby/Ellie/Dina, and I just want to put this right in there so people who don't like this throuple can escape in time and just avoid this fic altogether, for those of us who love the idea, you are welcome!  
> OBS: English is not my mother tongue but I keep lacking shame! Also, if you think this is my last Ellie/Dina/Abby, you are wrong.


	2. Abby

One moment she was hitting that fucking bastard - finally having gotten lucky enough that she found him, she was finally going to kill him - and then the next moment she heard a noise that distracted her for one second and then she hit someone completely different. This girl with brownish red hair came out of nowhere. Where were Nick and Leah? They never came back after they went to check what that smoke smell was. She screamed at the girl to go away but the girl kept screaming and begging her not to kill Joel. So she tried to remove her from him but then she got close and the girl looked her in the eyes. She was crying, desperately and begged Abby for Joel's life.

“Please” the girl begged to Abby “Please, don’t kill him, please”

Abby froze. This girl cared about this monster, she cared about him a lot to the point of risking her own life for him. There was something about the desperation and sadness in her green eyes that spoke to Abby in a way she couldn't really comprehend. Abby stood up. Jordan then came and tried to shoot at the girl. Abby screamed at him and stopped him. She only came here for Joel.

"No!" shouted Abby and putting a hand in front of him to push him away "this is not about her"

“Jordan is right. We have to kill her too” insisted Mel

“We can’t leave loose ends” said Nora at the same time

“Are you listening to yourselves? We are not like him” said Owen

“It’s too risky” said Jordan

“The girl could bring others with her” said Manny

“No” said Abby and faced them, giving her back to the girl, “I came for Joel, no one else”

“But Owen said that Jackson place was huge” said Jordan

“And if people come for them, they could retaliate” said Mel

“They could follow us, they could already be on the way” said Manny

“We can’t let them go” said Nora “we have to kill her too”

“No” said Owen and Abby at the same time.

She looked at Owen. It had been ages since they had agreed on something so adamantly. 

“We came here only for that bastard, no one else. She is innocent. I am not killing her” said Abby

“Really? And suddenly you are a good person?” scoffed Mel

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Abby

“Abby you dragged us all to kill a man, and you were doing it in the most vicious way possible, why did you not shoot him? No, you had to be a sadist” said Mel with a disgusted look in her face

“He killed so many of our people. Am I just supposed to let him go?” asked Abby

“I let my family’s killers go, Owen did, even Nora here, why should you be different, why is your pain more important?” screamed Mel 

“But he ruined our hopes” complained Abby, incredulous

“Bullshit, you don’t give a shit about that, you just care about yourself and your revenge obsession” said Mel

“Mel” said Nora, starting to get angry “you decided to come too”

“But I thought she would just shoot him, what is this?” said Mel looking at Nora but pointing at Abby as if she were trash “I won’t ever be able to sleep after today, this was sickening”

“What are you trying to say? That he should get away with it?” asked Abby

“Are you not listening? I wanted you to do it fast and that we would leave but instead you want to torture him? I am disgusted by you” said Mel

“Mel, that is too much” said Owen

“Don’t pretend you aren’t disgusted too, I’ve seen your face, you are all disgusted” said Mel looking at them in the eyes.

Abby looked at her friends and they all avoided looking at her in the eyes. Shocked she realized Mel was right, they were all disturbed by what she was just doing.

“The only difference is that I can tell her while you are all going to pretend you are ok with this, well, guess what? I am not ok with this!” screamed Mel.

“Mel, please calm down” asked Manny

“You are asking me to calm down? I am not the one torturing a defenseless man on the floor” said Mel

“Defenseless man? Have you forgotten what he did?” asked Abby, anger rising in her again

“And that justifies what you are doing? Do you hear yourself? You, who is bigger and stronger than him, ambush an old dude with all your friends, you don’t even give him a fair chance” said Mel

“Do you think he gave our friends a fair chance, did he give my dad a fair chance?” asked Abby

“I don’t know that, but at least he was alone doing that and not like us are now. He did not torture your dad, that much we know from the people that survived” said Mel

Abby was taken aback. What the fuck was wrong with Mel? She was about to shout at her more when she felt a pain in the back of her legs and then on the back of her head. Everything went dark.

She was again in the hospital, the alarm was ringing loudly in her ears and she ran looking for her dad. When she finally opened the door she did not find her dad. She saw Joel with his face smashed against the floor, barely recognizable but on top of him there was that redhead girl, her face bloody and smashed too. She then realized she had the golf club in her hands and she was covered in blood, she had killed them both. Abby screamed and woke up. She was in some bed, covered in a warm blanket and there was even an old lamp in there. When she sat she realized she was handcuffed to the bed. She looked around and saw that she was in a cell. It seemed like she was completely alone inside it.

“Bad dream?” asked a voice she had the feeling she had heard before

When she located the source of the voice she screamed. It was the girl but she was alive.

_ It was a dream, just a dream _ , thought Abby,  _ you didn’t do it, you didn’t kill this girl, she is not a ghost _

“You are alive” said Abby. 

She said it but it was a question of sorts. Her dream had been so vivid and she was still confused.

The girl was outside the cell, standing far away and looking at Abby with a puzzled stare. Then she moved towards her. She opened the cell and placed a tray on the floor, then she slid it towards her, left the cell and closed it again behind her.

“You probably need to eat, don’t worry, not poisoned. Not my style” said the girl

“Why should I trust you?” said Abby

The girl shrugged. Despite that, Abby ate, it wasn’t bad, there was even juice there. She drank it and wondered what this girl wanted.

“Where am I?” asked Abby, after she ate

“An old police precinct” said the girl

“How did I end up here?” asked Abby

"You didn't know you sleepwalk?" said the girl and snickered

"What?" asked Abby confused.

"That was a good one" said the girl in a lower voice

Abby just stared at her, still not getting how could she make jokes in this situation. The girl sighed, apparently frustrated at Abby not finding her funny and then decided to actually tell her what happened.

“You and your friends were fighting over something. I took my chance” said the girl

Abby narrowed her eyes. This girl alone had taken her down? Hey body seemed toned but she didn’t look  _ that _ strong.

“How?” asked Abby

“I hit you. You fainted. I used you as a shield. My friends came, your friends left” said the girl simply

Abby felt stupid for ever fighting her friends over this girl. She remembered Mel's disgusted face and all the horrible things they said to each other. She remembered how not one of them had been able to look her in the eye and tell her how terrified they had been of what she was doing to Joel. The whole situation was a nightmare.

“Why am I alive?” asked Abby 

“Trust me, you wouldn’t have been had you killed Joel” said the girl.

Abby looked at her in the eyes. She was not lying. The girl was too young to be his girlfriend but what did Abby know? There were plenty of creeps around. She wouldn’t put it past that man to be that disgusting. Right now she didn’t care, she was just furious for not being able to kill that man.

“But you didn’t manage and also… you spared me so…” said the girl

Abby just looked at her.

“Abby, right?” said the girl. 

“What do you want?” asked Abby. 

She was angry at herself for having doubted at that moment when she had Joel. She should not have let that strange feeling when she looked at this girl’s eyes make her pause. She should have just let Jordan kill her, then she would have been able to kill Joel. Then her dream came to mind again and she suddenly felt it was better she had stopped Jordan. She was just frustrated about how all this had ended.

“Well, I want to know why” said the girl

“Because that man killed my dad. He killed many people” said Abby.

The girl flinched and blinked. Maybe she didn’t know enough about Joel.

“I see that you don’t know your man good enough” mocked Abby

“He is not my man” said the girl disgusted

“Then why did you protect him?” asked Abby “do you have any idea of what he did?”

“I am aware that he crossed many people but he did that to survive” said the girl

“Really? Is that what he told you, better learn how to choose next time, little girl” said Abby

“I am not a little girl and I told you he is not my man he is my… he’s my dad” said the girl but as she was speaking her voice lowered to a point Abby had to make an effort to hear her.

So this was why. Now Abby knew why she had not been able to follow her plans when this girl threw herself in front of Joel, begged and cried for his life. Abby would have done the same had she been in her situation. She briefly wondered if Joel would have spared her and she doubted he would have.

“Oh. Well, your dad doomed us all”, said Abby

The girl was laying against the wall but when Abby said that she stood up straighter.

“Are you… a firefly?” asked the girl with something that seemed hope

“There are no more fireflies, they are all gone” said Abby

“Oh” said the girl disappointed and sat on the floor.

“What? You believed there were some left?” said Abby mockingly

“Yeah… maybe if they were still trying to make a cure… maybe” said the girl looking at the floor

“No, your guy Joel made sure of killing any chance of that when he killed my dad” said Abby

The girl looked at her surprised.

“The main doctor. It was your dad?” asked the girl

Abby nodded. She saw no point in hiding this information.

“Did he… maybe leave notes, maybe someone who trained with him, maybe another doctor?” said the girl and stood up and came near the cell where Abby was.

“No” said Abby. Mel and Nora had worked with her dad but she did not believe they could know how to do that type of operation. Or maybe they did? She was not sure.

“Are you sure? Do the guys that were with you… are they maybe former fireflies?” asked Ellie

“What does it matter?” said Abby

“It matters, maybe they know something” said the girl

What was it with this girl?

“No one can make a vaccine, no one that we know of” said Abby

“Are you sure, I mean, no one here knows but… maybe if you put enough doctors together in a big enough facility then maybe...” said the girl

“It doesn’t matter, we lost track of the girl as we lost track of Joel, without the immune girl there is no cure” said Abby matter of factly “and as far as I know there are only former fireflies left, like us, no more real active fireflies. Give up the dreams, little girl”

The girl tilted her head and looked at Abby. 

“And if you had her, then what?” asked the girl

_ What? _ , thought Abby,  _ maybe she knows where the girl is. Maybe she is here. _

Abby never thought what would she do if she ever found this girl. They had lost hope years ago but what would they do really if they found her? She was not the right person to ask this question but she knew who could help.

“I don’t know, I should ask my friend Nora and Mel, if they are still alive” said Abby. She almost stopped herself from calling Mel a friend but now she didn’t even know what had happened with them.

“I don’t know if they are alive” said the girl “there were some people following them when we left them”

The girl moved and started to leave.

“Wait, what?” asked Abby

“Yeah, we saw them leave and they were in a big truck but then we saw other trucks following them and shooting at them” said Ellie “We imagined they would have tried to rescue you by now but they still haven’t so...”

“Did you see anything, any detail about the people who were following them?” asked Abby fearing for her friends

“My friend Jesse said he only managed to see one big guy driving the cars, he had marks in his face, that was all” said the girl

“Fuck” said Abby “you have to let me go, I have to help them”

“Oh I would except that I don’t trust you and I don’t want you to kill Joel so I can’t do that” said the girl “but if you manage to convince me that you won't kill him maybe I can help you”

The girl left after that despite Abby’s protests. She did not even know how she was called but that was a minor inconvenience at the moment. She needed to get out of here, her friends were in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the character of Mel is usually not well liked but I believe she was telling the truth to Abby and she said many things to her that others have not dared to say to her. I mean, even Owen was disgusted by what Abby did, despite how he felt about her, that is obvious in the game.


	3. Dina

Dina was so relieved when she found Ellie alive. Joel was in terrible shape but he could recover. For some reason Ellie wanted to keep the blond girl alive despite Tommy’s protests, perhaps to make sure her friends would not try to do something funny while they kept her prisoner but Jackson did not really have a prision. There was an old police department that had a prison cell but no one was using it. And then there was the problem that at least two of the windows of the police precinct were broken beyond repair. If they put the woman there she could freeze to death. But Jesse said they could close them with planks, there would be no sunlight but it would work for now. When they arrived they talked with Maria and they briefly told her what happened. Ellie; Tommy and Dina took Joel to the hospital while Maria and Jesse placed Abby in the cell. Tommy had mentioned that they had saved this girl from a horde and then she took them to that house and she shot Joel and her friends hit Tommy until he lost consciousness. Why would someone that you save want to try and kill you? Dina could not get it. After the doctor clarified that Joel would make it Ellie decided she had to go see this woman. On the way there Dina went with her and they talked.

“Ellie, you should go and rest” said Dina, worried.

Her girlfriend looked at her and took her hand and pressed it.

“I am fine, babe, thank you for being there” said Ellie

“Babe, you look tired” said Dina

“You too but you are still here with me, do you want to go rest?” asked Ellie still holding her hand

“No, I am worried about you, why do you want to see this girl?” asked Dina

“I need to know why she attacked Joel. Her friends called her Abby and Tommy confirmed that was her name” said Ellie

“It was weird, wasn’t it? Had they been bandits they would have killed you” said Dina

“That is the part I don’t understand. She was definitely intent on killing Joel but then when I put myself in front she stopped” said Ellie

“By the way that was crazy, what were you thinking?” said Dina

“I don’t know, I was desperate, ok?” said Ellie

“I can tell” said Dina “you could have died”

“But it worked and I am not dead… I am just confused, you know, one of them was about to shoot me and she stopped him, she defended me, she doesn’t even know me” said Ellie

“Hmm… so you think she can’t be all that bad? Is that what you are saying?” said Dina

“I am ridiculous, right? I should be angry, I should have killed her but I don’t think that is right” said Ellie

“No, I get it, she did not kill Joel because you put yourself in that situation and somehow she protected you from her own people. I understand why you did not want to kill her” said Dina

“Does it make sense to you?” asked Ellie looking at her

“It kinda does” said Dina “and I would also want to know why and who these people are. So we can be prepared if they strike again”

“Yeah” said Ellie “also, she doesn’t seem like any of the people I know Joel crossed but then there is a lot I don’t know about him”

Ellie sounded remorseful. Dina knew that Ellie and Joel had a misunderstanding and Ellie had told Dina that only recently she had decided to approach him again.

“Hey” said Dina and stopped Ellie “when he wakes up you can make up for all the lost time” 

“Yeah, I hope so. Dina I could have lost him just now” said Ellie desperately

“But you didn’t, so you can relax, you will have time once he is awake” said Dina

“Luckily” said Ellie and hugged Dina “I have been so stubborn”

“It’s ok, we all discuss with the people we love from time to time, right? You have a second chance now” said Dina

“I do” said Ellie and kissed her “now I want to go see this woman”

Jesse and Maria had just thrown her in the bed inside the cell. She was uncovered and still unconscious. Ellie and Dina looked around and found a blanket and decided to cover her with that. Although Jesse had covered the windows it was still quite cold inside. Dina then found an old lamp and put it inside for later. They examined the girl, when they had taken her Dina had not really paid much attention, only now she had time to observe her with detail. Dina calculated that she must be around 22 or so years old, she was not that much older than them. The weirdest thought came to Dina’s mind. This girl right here, even with her muscles, at least while she slept, she seemed so defenseless, so vulnerable, it felt strange to think this could have been Joel’s killer. She wasn’t even ugly.

Ellie grabbed a pair of handcuffs and said she would put it on her just to be safer.

“She doesn’t seem so intimidating now, does she? But she’s very strong” said Ellie while she handcuffed her to the bed. Ellie stood up and looked at her paying more attention “she kinda looks like She-ra”

“What?” asked Dina and almost laughed.

“Blonde, long hair, big, strong” said Ellie talking about a comic she had once borrowed to Dina

_Pretty_ , thought Dina and felt jealousy creep inside her. That was really absurd. 

“I don’t know for how long she will stay unconscious like this” said Ellie as she left the cell and then locked the door of the cell.

“Me neither but maybe we should prepare some food and something to drink” said Dina

“What?” asked Ellie

“You are not gonna starve her, are you?” said Dina

“I am not exactly worried about her comfort here” said Ellie

“Come’on we just covered her with a blanket” mentioned Dina

“I don’t want her to die before I get the information out of her” said Ellie crossing her arms stubbornly.

“Starving is a way to die, you know?” said Dina

“Fine, let’s go and make something” said Ellie defeated

“Now you are being reasonable” jocked Dina

“You are impossible” said Ellie smiling

“Look who’s talking?” said Dina. 

Later Ellie took the food and drink to Abby. In the meantime Dina examined what the girl had in her backpack. She opened one pocket and saw a map, then lots of guns and bullets too. She opened more pockets and, among other things she found that she had several coins and she even had a historical fiction book Dina remembered reading time ago. Then she heard someone knocking on the door.

“Hey” said Jesse “what are you doing?”

“Checking the loot” said Dina and continued looking in Abby’s backpack

“Anything interesting?” asked Jesse and came nearer to see what Dina had placed on the floor

“Coins” said Dina “why would she have them? I wonder if they still use money in Seattle. They had some Washington Liberation Front logos or something, so they must be from there”

“Nobody uses money anymore” said Jesse smiling “maybe she just likes to hoard them”

“Everything one takes in one’s backpack is important, taking these things” said Dina while holding a coin “and for that to have no use… that would be stupid, wouldn’t it?”

“Your girl collects stamps, Dina, are you telling me Ellie is stupid?” joked Jesse

“No” said Dina “she does a lot of stupid stuff but she is not stupid, at least not all the time”

“So? Maybe this woman also has some weird need of coins, maybe they melt them to do something” said Jesse

“Could be” said Dina

“How is Ellie?” asked Jesse “Haven’t seen her”

“She’s talking with _She-ra_ ” said Dina

“She-ra?” asked Jesse

“That old comic, you know the one” said Dina “Ellie thinks there are similarities between her and Abby”

“Because she is blond, tall and strong?” asked Jesse

“Yeah” said Dina, 

_And nice to look at too,_ thought Dina, still a bit annoyed

“Dina, are you jealous?” asked Jesse, amused

“What? Me, with this face? Never” lied Dina

“You are” said Jesse surprised “Dina, that is insane. She almost killed Joel, you have to be thankful that Ellie did not grab that golf club and tried to do to that girl what she was doing to Joel”

“That would have been pretty disgusting, wouldn’t it?” said Dina, imagining that scene

“Yeah, and it would have probably scarred Ellie”, said Jesse “I mean, shooting at someone is one thing, doing that…”

Jesse shook his head

“That is just sick” said Jesse

“I guess that is why Ellie wants to know, why she did it” said Dina “she is under the impression that girl is not all that bad since she spared her”

“I’m surprised, normally Ellie is a lot more reactionary, but I guess she is maturing” said Jesse “hope she is right, hope that bringing that woman all the way here was worth it”

“Me too” said Dina “thanks, by the way, for listening to Ellie, I think this was important for her”

“Of course, gotta support my friends” said Jesse

Dina smiled at him.

“Anyway, glad to see you guys are doing fine, let me know if you need help with something” said Jesse

“Sure” said Dina “thanks again”

She waved goodbye to him and he nodded and left. Dina was glad to see she would be able to keep a friendly relationship with Jesse. They had broken up two months ago but he was still very nice to both of them. Jesse was a good guy and she was glad that he had not stopped talking to her because she was now dating Ellie. Some time later, Ellie came back from talking to Abby and she was slightly altered. 

“So, what happened with _She-ra_?” asked Dina

“She was a firefly, her dad was the man who was trying to make a cure” said Ellie while she paced around the room and touched her fingers nervously

“Oh, so how did they met Joel?” asked Dina

Ellie stopped walking around and looked at Dina. She sighed.

“Remember yesterday, at Eugene’s?” asked Ellie

“How could I forget?” smiled Dina. 

Ellie and DIna had been dating for a month and a half and despite having been together before that day, the intimacy they had shared at the pot farm had been special for both of them. 

“Remember when I told you about being bitten?” said Ellie, showing the chemical burn to Dina again

Dina scoffed.

“Seriously, that story again?” said Dina “we are talking about serious stuff here” 

“I am serious” said Ellie nervously and swallowed “Dina, I am immune”

“There are no immune people” said Dina, incredulous

“There is at least one, me” insisted Ellie

“Ellie, you normally have better jokes than this” said Dina

“This is no joke, Dina, I am honest. The reason why Joel and I met was because he had to take me to the hospital where the fireflies had a team of doctors and someone there could make a cure with me” said Ellie nervously

“Have you read this in one of your comics? You are not a superhero, Ellie” said Dina

Ellie sighed and put a hand in her forehead but then she looked at Dina again.

“I am serious, for real, that was the reason we met. Maria, Tommy and Joel are the only ones who know that I am immune and the reason why I had the fall off with Joel was because… we got there, to the hospital and then… to make the cure I had to die and he… he didn’t let them” said Ellie and she was making an effort to hold her tears

Dina started to suspect that even Ellie would not joke about this.

“Are you telling me that… you can’t become infected?” said Dina still unable to accept this

“Yes, I can even breathe in spores, nothing happens. I can’t get you infected or can’t make you immune, as far as I know” said Ellie

“Ellie… that is… I can’t” Dina stood up “why… how? Why are you telling me now?” 

“Abby… she is the daughter of the man who would have made the cure, with me, so Joel killed him” said Ellie

“Oh no, Ellie, this isn't your fault. If this is all…” Dina stopped herself. Of course it was real, Ellie’s face was honest, so she said instead “he did it probably to save you, I mean, he loves you, he wouldn't let you die, who would do that?”

“But Dina, this ruined humanity” said Ellie

“Ellie, I am sorry but humanity sounds like such an abstract thing. If it is someone you love who needs to die to save millions of unnamed people who you don’t know, how can you care about humanity? It’s just too much” said Dina, truthfully

“Dina, we are part of humanity, he basically doomed you too” said Ellie

“Maybe but we don’t know. What if they failed, eh? Then you would be dead and still no cure? At least you are still alive” said Dina

Ellie blinked and it seemed like the thought had never occurred to her. She looked down.

“I thought that… since I am immune I had to do something and I thought that had I died then… my life would be worth it” said Ellie

“Oh, Ellie,” Dina caressed Ellie’s face and Ellie looked at her “you read too many comics, you dumbass”

Ellie laughed and looked down.

“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for your life to have worth. You already have worth” said Dina “get it?”

Ellie smiled and placed her forehead closer to Dina and their foreheads touched.

“Now don’t you ever say something that stupid in front of me again or I’ll feed you to the clickers” said Dina

“I’ll try” said Ellie

“Don’t just try, accept what I am telling you, like now” said Dina

“Yes, sir” said Ellie, mockingly

Dina hit her in the arm but not that hard.

“Ouch” complained Ellie

“Weak” mocked Dina

“You still like me” said Ellie

“Oh, can’t help it, you are too cute” said Dina and kissed her.

“I love you” said Ellie, giving Dina such a tender and vulnerable stare she was surprised

Dina blinked and hugged her. She felt this was too soon but she was delighted. 

“If you do, then listen to me, I don’t want you to die” said Dina and kissed her cheek

Ellie sighed and hugged her tighter.

They went to see Joel. He was getting better but he was still unconscious. His leg was hurt and they thought that maybe there was no saving it. They were still unsure but they were discussing amputating the leg. Tommy was ready to go and shoot at Abby but Ellie talked to him and said she wanted to find out more about her group. Both Maria and Jesse agreed so Ellie was given more time to find out but Tommy was not going to restrain himself that long. 

When they were back at Dina’s Ellie was very worried.

“I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to kill her but if she leaves and then she comes back to kill Joel I would never forgive myself” said Ellie “What can I do?”

“Relax, we will think of something” said Dina “Now let me prepare something for our guest, time for me to pay She-ra a visit”

“What?” asked Ellie

“I have an idea, just trust me” said Dina

“Ok, but be careful she is very strong and I think she is very smart too” said Ellie

“Now you just need to tell me you think she’s pretty and I will be completely jealous” said Dina

“No, no, no, I don’t… what are you saying?” said Ellie perplexed

“I’m kidding, Ellie, you need to chill” said Dina

“Oh, ok, I just… can’t even think about that” said Ellie

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you for her either” teased Dina

Ellie smiled and shook her head. 

“Wouldn’t even cross my mind” said Ellie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, the new She-ra series is very recent but whatever, in this version of the world that was released as a comic years before the fungal pandemic so Ellie read it some time ago. I just couldn’t help myself, you know


	4. Abby

Despite how old the structure looked like, she still could not break the bed she was handcuffed to. For that reason, she could not reach the door and check if she could just kick the cell open and escape. She had the feeling she would not even be able to do that. She was getting tired of sitting so she stood up and started stretching. Since one arm was handcuffed she could not really do much but she still tried. She was standing and doing a forward fold, touching her feet with one hand when someone behind her cleared their throat and so she stood up and looked back. 

A small woman with curly hair and a gorgeous face looked at her. Abby suddenly felt self conscious.

“I was getting sore” she justified herself

“It’s ok, I get it” said the girl and smiled. 

She was even prettier when she smiled.

“My name is Dina, you are Abby right?” said Dina as she took the keys and went to her. 

Dina opened the door, placed the tray of food and water on the floor and slid it towards Abby. All that she did were simple actions but there was a particular grace that accompanied what she was doing and Abby couldn’t help but notice all of this and wondered why the hell she was paying attention to that.

“Could you?” said Dina and pointed at the previous tray.

She should have used that tray to throw it at this woman but instead Abby pushed the tray so that it reached Dina. Dina smiled at Abby once more and took the tray. Abby was both nervous and pleased with that smile.

Then she closed the door again. Dina brought a chair, placed it against the wall and sat, while she looked at Abby. 

Abby ate again and drank. The food was different but she liked it. It was better than the last thing she ate. She was surprised to be treated that nicely but she was also apprehensive, she needed to find a way to escape this place and she couldn’t while this girl looked at her. They only gave her plates and cups made out of tin, no knife or anything that could be used as weapons. They were clever. 

“So, Ellie told me a bit about you” said Dina

“That is the name of that redhead?” asked Abby

“She didn’t tell you, didn’t know my girl had that bad manners” said Dina

_So she’s the girlfriend_ … thought Abby annoyed for some reason at finding this out. 

“Oh” said Abby “I think she tried to but I wasn’t receptive” 

“Ok, we can excuse her then… so, are you still intent on murdering her old man?”, asked Dina directly, as if she was asking Abby about the weather.

Abby was taken aback but she was also tired of these people.

“What makes you think I would tell you that?” said Abby

“Aren’t you worried about your friends?” asked Dina

“What do you know about them?” asked Abby

“Not much, only that the people with the scars were following them” said Dina

This wasn’t helpful. 

_I need to get out of here,_ thought Abby. Dina observed her. As if reading her mind, Dina talked again.

“The fastest way you will see yourself out of here is if you can convince Ellie and me that you will leave Joel alone” said Dina, firmly.

“I have no reason to trust you” said Abby

“Of course, but then to trust someone you need time, and to see some improvement” said Dina “and so far it seems neither Ellie nor me had seen any remorse in you, are you sure you have enough time to be like this?”

Abby was immediately angry, If she could she would beat this girl against the floor until she bled. Then her nightmare came again to her and she regretted the thought. This girl was infuriating but she might be right. Maybe if she pretended she would leave them alone they would set her free. But could she really believe this? Could she really say it? She hated Joel, he had to die.

“I don’t know if I can let him go” admitted Abby “he killed my dad, he ruined any chance for a cure”

“Is this about justice or is this about revenge?” asked Dina

“Why would that matter?” asked Abby

“It does matter. What is your aim? Do you believe that after he is dead your father will rest in peace? Or is it about you resting more peacefully?” asked Dina

Abby scoffed.

“So she told you even that” said Abby

“Nightmares are common. I wouldn't be surprised if they happen often to people who think they have unfinished business” said Dina and shrugged “nothing to be ashamed of”

“I am not ashamed” said Abby, “and I do have something that needs to be finished”

“Do you believe that after that your nightmares will stop? Let me tell you something. I doubt they will” said Dina

“How would you know?” asked Abby

Dina sighed. It seemed she had trouble with whatever she was thinking about. She bit her lip nervously and then she sat straighter.

“Let me tell you a story” said Dina, in the end

“Not interested” replied Abby. These people were wasting her time.

“Oh, do you want me to spoil you your novel instead?” asked Dina

Abby looked at Dina as if she had asked Abby if she wanted to see Dina sacrificing a puppy in front of her. 

“You went through my stuff?” asked Abby

“Of course” shrugged Dina

“You haven’t read that. You can’t be that fast” said Abby

“I read it years ago” confessed Dina

Abby narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t believe you” said Abby

“Ok, you know the eggs that Colonel asked for are actually not-” said Dina

“Ok, ok I will listen to you, just stop talking about the novel!” interrupted Abby.

If there was something Abby detested was when someone spoiled a book for her. Dina smiled maliciously. This woman was terrible.

“Good choice” said Dina and sighed “Many years ago, a little girl saw how three men killed her older sister. She was devastated. They did terrible things to her sister but she was hidden in a locker and was so afraid she could do nothing but stare. The girl barely had anything left of her sister after the men finished. Just… pieces” 

Dina looked down. Abby heard it in horror. This was a story like so many others but it was still always hard to listen when someone would tell their own experience with the fucked up world they lived in.

“She had nightmares about it every night. So she tracked the men down. She found them one night in a house. They started drinking and fell asleep. There was so much alcohol. The girl had always known what was needed for a fire so… she burned down the house.” said Dina

“She avenged her sister” said Abby “who wouldn’t do that?”

Dina gave her a sad smile and looked down again. She shook her head.

“The following day she went to see. She wanted to make sure they were truly dead. She saw other people going to the house, among them a small kid. Eight years old, not much more than that, how that boy cried when he found her dad among the corpses… that the girl never forgot. Years later she saw that same boy hanging from a tree. She always wondered had he had his dad next to him, would his chances of survival have improved? Nobody knows” said Dina and looked at Abby

“It’s not the same” complained Abby

“How can you know?” said Dina “Do you think you would be different had your dad been alive?” 

“Of course” said Abby

“And knowing how it affected you, why would you do that to another girl?”, asked Dina

Abby looked down. There was no point of comparison.

“My dad was a good man” said Abby

“We have a school here” said Dina “do you have a school where you live?” 

“Yes” said Abby, confused and irritated

“Joel helped build the expansion of that school. He carved figures that people use in the classroom. He helped many people here. He might be a monster to you but he is well loved here. Ellie loves him and I am not going to let someone hurt Ellie” said Dina firmly and with a hint of threat in her voice that sent chills down Abby’s spine.

“Then why don’t you kill me and be done with this?” said Abby exasperated. She was not going to let this woman see what she thought about her threat. 

“Ellie doesn’t want to kill you” said Dina as if that settled the matter

Abby scoffed.

“She really doesn’t. She thinks, and I agree, that because you spared her then you can’t really be a terrible person. Despite your intentions” said Dina

Abby sighed. She could not see a way out of this. She could not give up on her idea of killing that man.

“There’s something you haven’t told me about the girl” said Abby

“What?” asked Dina

“Did her nightmares stop?” asked Abby

Dina looked at her in the eyes.

“I'm not an expert but I suspect that nightmares only go away when you build, do something good for others, not when you destroy. Destroying only gives more fuel to the nightmares” replied Dina

Abby knew that Dina was telling the truth but she didn't want to accept it. Her nightmare about a dead Ellie had already suggested to her that Dina could be right.

“What about justice?” said Abby “Would it have been ok to let those men get away with it?”

“Maybe for the sake of that boy, it would have been” said Dina with difficulty

“And what if the men went and did more horrible things?” asked Abby

“And what if they changed? We will never know that” said Dina “Joel is not the same as those men, true, and he is not the same as your dad, but your dad would have taken something precious from Joel and he could not allow it. I’m not justifying what Joel did but he has not gone around killing people here, he is part of a peaceful community” 

Abby shook her head. It was too much for her and she didn’t know what to think. Before she could talk they heard a noise and two people discussing. 

“I think I need to go and check,” said Dina, then she took something she had placed on a shelf behind her and came near Abby’s cell. She threw it towards Abby saying “here”

Abby caught it. It was her book.

“Good catch” said Dina, grabbed the tray Ellie had given to Abby earlier and left. 

Abby would have sworn that Dina winked at her but she wasn't sure. She felt oddly satisfied at herself for receiving that small compliment from this girl she barely knew.

Then Abby heard more people arguing but could not really make up what was happening so she just sat and looked at her book. She had a lot in her mind and she did not think she had time to read since she needed to think about how to escape but somehow the fact that Dina had given her the book endeared her to Abby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Abby was reading the city of thieves later in the story but maybe she does not have that much reading time and so she can’t go that fast or maybe I am moving things around here because it’s my fic. And I don’t know if Abby hates being spoiled but I definitely do.  
> Dina here is a bit different because she has a different past. I thought about it while playing and hearing how she said that had she had been given the chance she would have done worse to the people who killed her sister. So I thought, what if she did?


	5. Dina

Retelling this story wasn't something Dina found appealing. In fact, she detested doing that. She had told this to Ellie only two weeks ago. 

They had been on patrol together when they faced a horde. They ran and then when they found a place to hide designed a plan to get rid of them. Ellie would block one of their ways so that they would have no choice but to follow another path while Dina would prepare to blow them to pieces in that direction they would end up going to. Dina had just finished placing all of the explosives near places that would potentiate their capacity so that the horde would be eliminated or at least considerably reduced in size.

However, instead of going around and meeting her at their marked point as they had agreed, Dina saw in horror as Ellie ran straight to where all the bombs were, the horde behind her. Dina screamed at her and ran, but she knew perfectly well she would never get to Ellie in time. She was going to witness how Ellie blew to pieces or burned to death and it was going to be her fault. Then, exactly before reaching where the first bomb had been placed, Ellie climbed over a car, jumped towards a ceiling of an old house and climbed it, then she crossed over the other side, threw a molotov over the house and that, together with the other infected that kept running towards Dina's trap set it up and the infected were obliterated. Ellie came to her, laughing excitedly, ready to high five Dina but she found her in tears instead. 

"You fucking idiot!" Dina yelled at Ellie as she pushed her and hit her in the arms "why did you do that? you could have died!" 

Then Dina fell to the ground and cried. The idea of Ellie dying in the fire reminded her too much of that part of her life she had fought for so many years to forget. She had made a huge effort to redeem and forgive herself but the moment she thought Ellie was going to die there one thought came to her: she deserved this. Dina deserved losing her loved one too, for the pain she had inflicted to that child. But Ellie miraculously survived, her daredevil of a girlfriend made it and she was even laughing about it. She probably even got a kick out of it. Ellie looked worriedly at Dina, came to her and sat next to. Then gingerly she put a hand on Dina's shoulder and let her cry. 

"What's going on?" asked Ellie

Dina just shook her head but then she thought Ellie deserved the truth. So, she told her. She tried not to cry but she was still in a lot of distress so she did cry a bit. Ellie listened to her and caressed her back. 

"I'm sorry" said Ellie "I don't know what to say, I didn't know… I didn't do this on purpose, I just thought it was the fastest way to bring them all here… I didn't know… I"

Ellie sighed and still caressed Dina's back.

"You didn't intend on causing that much hurt, I think, had I been you, I would have done the same, it's only natural to seek revenge" said Ellie "and despite this, I still think you are a good person, you are amazing actually"

Dina chuckled but she was thankful and so she hugged Ellie. They talked some more, about life, revenge, how being that focused on that one thing makes one forget others, doesn't allow one to see the whole picture, among other things. Dina was happy that Ellie didn't seem to think differently of her despite what she had done. It made her believe their bond was really strong. Strong enough to endure a lot of shit, which was important in this world they were living in. 

Ellie had tried to be more careful since then but only for a few days, slowly she became reckless again. That was obvious, otherwise she wouldn't have thrown herself in front of a deadly woman that was about to kill Joel. It was just this woman's bizarre compassion that had spared Ellie. In a way Dina felt that she had to thank Abby for not killing Ellie, and not letting her friends kill Ellie either. Of course even the thought of doing that seemed weird. She could understand why Ellie wanted to spare her and if possible convince her to desist in her quest. So Dina had to help, she just had to.

When she went to talk to Abby she was surprised to see her stretching. 

_ Nice ass _ , thought Dina. The thought just came out of nowhere and made her feel slightly embarrassed with herself. Not so long ago Jesse was reprimanding her for being jealous of Abby and here she was, ogling her. So she had to make herself felt, what if Abby thought she was alone and continued stretching or worse, removed some of her clothes?

The way Abby behaved after realizing someone was here was so comical it made Dina smile. She went to give Abby the food and asked her to push the previous trail so that she could take it. For a second there she thought this woman would use the trail as a weapon and she was ready for it but she didn't. Then they talked a bit and Dina couldn't help but notice a couple of strange things. First, that the moment Abby had seen her she had been embarrassed and Dina presumed it was because of how she found her but then when Dina laughed Abby had blushed. Second, that the moment Dina mentioned Ellie was her girlfriend Abby had looked disappointed. It was intriguing but Dina had more important matters to think about now, rather than worry about some new admirer or whatever the hell was happening here. 

When she decided to talk to this girl, she had not planned on telling her that story but as they talked she noticed this girl was obsessed and Dina knew about this type of obsession. Sadly, she knew it too well. So she told her. Whenever she talked about this, all came to her, not just the images but the smell of burned flesh, the wail of that child, his body as he hung from that tree. It was terrible but she felt she had to do it, to make this girl understand that what she wanted to do was repeat that hurt she had suffered onto another innocent person, in this case Ellie. She had to know that ending the life of that man she hated so much would not bring her what she wanted. Dina wasn't sure if Abby understood but she had to try regardless.

Then she heard a commotion and had to leave her. Since she had threatened with spoiling her book and was feeling mildly guilty for doing that she had brought the book, so that Abby could read it at least. Dina wasn't sure that threat would work but she had to try, she herself hated when people spoiled stories to her. Besides, Abby was probably bored to tears in that cell, having that book at least gave her something to do. 

The noise was being caused by Tommy, he had been talking with the doctors and they weren't sure Joel's leg could be saved and so Tommy wanted this girl to lose a leg. He wanted her to suffer  _ at least that, _ he had said. Ellie was there trying to calm him down but it was Dina the one who managed to shut him up and make him leave.

"Thank you" said Ellie as she saw Tommy leave

"You're welcome" said Dina and patted her back

"Sorry for interrupting" said Ellie

"It's not like we were doing anything intense" said Dina

"What?" asked Ellie

"It's a joke, Ellie" said Dina

"Oh. I didn't understand" replied Ellie

"Nevermind, I was done talking with her anyway" said Dina "do you think he will try anything funny later?" 

"I don't know but I wouldn't put it past him, he may even want to torture her" said Ellie

"Tommy! Really? I can't believe you" said Dina

"Joel and him… before they came here, they did a lot of extreme things to survive" said Ellie

"I see…" said Dina "is that the reason why you could get me?" 

"What do you mean?" asked Ellie

"You know what I mean" said Dina looking at Ellie pointedly

"You mean… your past?" asked Ellie

Dina nodded. She had been surprised at how fast Ellie had accepted what Dina had told her and Ellie never treated her differently because of it. She had just taken that so nonchalantly that Dina had suspected that wasn't the first time Ellie had encountered people who had done things like that or worse. 

"I don't know… I just know that whatever you did it's in the past, and that I know that you are a good person" said Ellie

Dina held Ellie's hand and gently squeezed it. Ellie smiled at her. Dina gave her a brief kiss but Ellie then put one hand on the back of Dina's head and the other on her waist, pushing Dina closer and deepening their kiss. 

"Ok" said Dina when she broke the kiss "if that is any indication I think you are going to like my plan"

"What plan?" asked Ellie, slightly out of breath

"I was going to suggest we move into here, bring a kitchen, and some other things and stay here a few days, you know, to make sure Tommy doesn't come at night and kill her" said Dina

"When you say we, you mean…?" asked Ellie, smiling with a bit too much smugness

"I mean you and I" said Dina, feeling herself blush

"I like that", said Ellie in a low and horny voice and she kissed Dina again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaving to the reader's imagination what happened immediately after this ;)


	6. Ellie

Ellie was having an excellent day. She had slept with Dina, woken up hugging her, been with her part of the morning before going to her patrol, gone to a patrol where she had found another card and not many infected and came back to kiss Dina goodbye as she was the one going for a patrol. To top it all, Joel was getting better and they could indeed save his leg. Everything was just great. 

She made two sandwiches, all the while singing a tune she had come up with, grabbed water and then went to see Abby. 

"Good afternoon!" said Ellie, almost singing

Abby looked at her reproachfully, she seemed tired.

"Oooh, someone is happy because they got laid" said Abby mockingly

"What?" asked Ellie as she repeated the same procedure she had to give food to Abby

"Ellie, right?" said Abby mocking Ellie's voice "Dina said that was your name"

Ellie felt slightly affronted by the way Abby had mentioned Dina's name, as if she knew Dina quite well or something. However, everything was too nice that day for Ellie to be really annoyed over something so insignificant. So instead of being angry Ellie laughed.

"Yes, that's my name" said Ellie "sorry if I forgot to mention it yesterday, had other things on my mind" 

"You had other things on your mind right now it seems, this sandwich is terrible. Who the hell puts peanut butter in a chicken sandwich?" complained Abby

"Ooh someone is very picky with her food" said Ellie mocking Abby’s voice "did you notice that the world sort of ended out there? Not time to be that delicate with what you eat, Abby" 

The blond just shook her head, disapprovingly.

“Don’t judge a meal by its looks. It’s very souperficial.” said Ellie

Abby just rolled her eyes and kept eating. 

"Can't be that bad if you are still eating it" mumbled Ellie

"I'm hungry" said Abby

"I was talking to myself" said Ellie

"I still heard you, just like I heard your ten consecutive orgasms yesterday. Can you guys try and keep it quiet tonight?" said Abby

Ellie laughed again

"Sorry" said Ellie, not feeling sorry at all

"I really don't know which of you is louder, probably you" complained Abby

"What makes you think that?" asked Ellie, since that piqued her curiosity

"Well… I don't know, Dina looks more capable" said Abby and shrugged

Ellie just opened her mouth. She was deeply offended but then realized that Abby was smiling. Was she joking?

"Fuck you" said Ellie but she smiled "I won't tell you which of us was louder" 

"I didn't really ask" said Abby and rose an eyebrow

Something in that confident and smug smile made Ellie feel a familiar but completely out of place tingling in her belly. So she grabbed the notebook and pen she had brought with her and sat on the chair, just because she needed to do something else than just looking at this intriguing woman. 

"Uhm, you don't mind if I draw you, do you?" asked Ellie

"You want to do what?" asked Abby

"Draw you" repeated Ellie as she opened her notebook

"Why?" asked Abby

"I like to draw" said Ellie and shrugged.

She didn't know why but the fact that she was facing some resistance from Abby made her uncomfortable.

"Why are you asking me? Why don't you just draw if that's what you want to do?" asked Abby

"Well… I…" Ellie didn't really know what to say so she closed her notebook "look, if you don't want to, I won't draw you"

Abby narrowed her eyes at Ellie and seemed to mull this over for a while.

"What? Are you really not going to draw me?" said Abby, sounding offended

Ellie was amused although puzzled.

"You didn't seem to want me to by any sketch of the imagination" said Ellie

"What, am I not so interesting like Dina?" said Abby mockingly, completely ignoring Ellie’s perfect pun

"What? What does Dina have to do with this?" asked Ellie

"I bet you made millions of drawings of her, maybe you put some hearts here and there, wrote your confessions too" mocked Abby

"What if I did? I have color instinct after all" said Ellie. 

She was still in too much of a good mood to care about Abby mocking her. Abby looked at her, surprised by the answer and seemingly not impressed by her jokes.

"You really have no shame, do you?" asked Abby

"Why would I?" asked Ellie

"I heard you two fucking all night and neither of you seem to care, Dina didn't even blush when I mentioned it and you just laugh it off" said Abby, incredulous "why the hell did you even start sleeping here anyway? It's this some kind of weird torture or is it your kink?"

"Oh… well, we just had to move here" said Ellie

"Why?" asked Abby

"Because… well… Tommy might hurt you, he came here and was really angry, they didn't know if they could save Joel's leg so…" said Ellie

"Let me get this straight" asked Abby, completely puzzled, "you came to sleep here to protect me?" 

"Well…" said Ellie and felt somehow self conscious "I mean it wouldn't be fair. You are already locked in here, I don't think it's ok that someone would torture you too" 

Ellie looked at Abby and it seemed that what she said caused some discomfort. The blond just looked to the side and seemed uncomfortable.

"So… you guys here think that people who torture their prisoners are monsters, deviants of some sort?" asked Abby

"What kind of question is that?" asked Ellie "of course you are not supposed to do that"

"Well, you haven't been in a situation where you need to torture someone because that information could save lives" said Abby defensively

Elle was taken aback.

"You know, your place sounds terrible if that is something you think _you have_ to do often" said Ellie

Abby looked angry at that but didn't reply.

"Look, I know some people who have done that to survive but I think it sounds draining and I rather not find out if I can" said Ellie

"You are just naive" said Abby

"Maybe I am, who knows?" admitted Ellie

"You are not even ashamed of that?" asked Abby, perplexed

"Man, you have some serious issue with shame, you know?" commented Ellie

"And you have some issues with it too, mainly that you lack of it" said Abby

"Doesn't seem to do you any good, from what I can see" said Ellie and shrugged

Abby rolled her eyes and looked elsewhere.

"You still want to draw me?" asked Abby after some time had passed in silence

"Yeah" said Ellie, confused at this change of topic

"Then do so" said Abby "might as well do something rather than talking nonsense"

Ellie shrugged and started sketching. She felt Abby's eyes on her while she did this and when she focused on drawing her eyes she felt curiously self conscious. 

Abby had beautiful eyes. Her face was lovely too. There was something about her mouth and eyebrows when she snickered that made her look somehow like a wolf but not in a bad way. And her body was so well defined that Ellie wondered if all the people where Abby was from were that devout to training.

"Is everyone over there as muscular as you?" asked Ellie as she was finishing her sketches

"No, why do you ask?" replied Abby

"Well, you look really well built and you seem smart too" said Ellie

The blond woman seemed uncomfortable again. Briefly, Ellie observed her, she was blushing. It made Ellie blush a bit too.

What the hell was happening here? She had to say something.

"I'm just wondering why would they let you go, if you are that capable perhaps you hold an important role in that community" said Ellie

Again, Ellie looked at Abby's eyes. She seemed very surprised.

"Well, you aren't stupid either" said Abby

Ellie snickered.

"So, I was thinking that perhaps your group is big enough that they can let eight very capable people go on their murderous adventure without causing that much loss" said Ellie "am I right?"

Abby sighed and pressed her lips together but didn't reply. Looking at her irritated face she knew she had got it right.

"And for what you said you must be in some sort of war with another group… so you must have injured people… you must have doctors… Do you have like a… big hospital somewhere, lots of doctors and nurses?" asked Ellie

"What are you getting at?" asked Abby

"Just asking questions" said Ellie pretending innocence

"It's this about the vaccine?" asked Abby

"Maybe" said Ellie

Abby sighed.

"Yes, we have a big hospital and many doctors and our group is big, we have lots of resources, happy?" said Abby

"Slightly so" said Ellie and smiled. 

She took one of her drawings, folded it so that it had an airplane shape, came near the cell and made it fly towards Abby. The blond girl grabbed it.

"What? Aren't you afraid I'll use paper to cut something" asked Abby as she grabbed it

"If you are that capable, maybe you deserve escaping" said Ellie jokingly

Abby just scoffed.

"Come on, open it" said Ellie

Abby looked at the paper, then at Ellie and then she opened it. Her face changed from annoyance to surprise in an instant. Then she seemed pleased. 

"You are good" said Abby in astonishment

It wasn't so clear to Ellie why but seeing Abby's reaction to her drawing made the day somehow even better. Maybe it was just a good day overall, it must have been that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about putting some details about bathroom breaks for Abby but then I thought that sounded just too detailed and added nothing to the story. I'm not into extremely descriptive stories so just assume they figured a way to let her go where she couldn't escape.  
> I also think that since in this story Ellie has not gone down the rabbit hole and into complete despair like in the TLoU2 game, she is still somewhat innocent in some aspects although capable and so she has still this lighthearted and silly behavior where she makes lots of stupid jokes.


	7. Dina

_Maybe this would fit her?,_ thought Dina as she grabbed some underwear and other clothes. 

_Does she wear a bra? Sometimes Ellie doesn't_ , she thought as she looked at a couple of sports bras, _maybe I'll take them just in case._

The image of Abby changing and putting on those bras came to Dina and she felt blood rushing to her face. Why was she thinking about Abby’s body again? Oh, true, she wanted to help her be a little more comfortable. Still, that was no excuse to think about _She-ra_ getting naked or something. She needed to stop thinking about Abby’s body, this instant!

Having a prisoner was starting to feel like having a child since now that she was on patrol she was checking for clothes and such. But what Dina found really intriguing was that until now no one had seen Abby's friends. They wouldn't abandon her, would they? It was odd that they hadn't seen them ever since they attacked Joel and Tommy. A couple of rules had been changed ever since that attack, now no one would use their real names when confronted with stragglers and they would try and avoid following any group to their hideout if possible. In the case of Tommy and Joel they hadn't had a chance to do anything different because they had been followed by a horde but their experience served the others now. The patrols now were a bit more weary of stragglers. Dina hoped that this would not last forever since she could not help but remember the time she was a straggler too. Innocent people also went by and they deserved a chance. 

Later that day, when Ellie came back from her patrol, she gave her a very intense kiss that ended up in them barely making it to the bed before their clothes were all gone. This time, though, Ellie had tried to use a piece of cloth in her mouth to decrease the volume of her screams and Dina found that so hot that she moaned even more than she normally would. 

“Do you want me to tie you up?” asked Dina later when they were enjoying the afterglow “I would be up to that”

“Really?” asked Ellie “I don’t know, have to think about it”

“What gave you that idea? Did you find any interesting magazines on your patrol?” asked Dina

“No, actually… it was something I wanted to try to not bother our _guest_ that much” said Ellie

“What?” asked Dina “I mean, she did complain to me too but… I wasn’t going to allow that to disturb me”

“She asked nicely” said Ellie and shrugged

“I doubt it” said Dina

“You got me” said Ellie “I was just trying to let her sleep. Maybe then she would be more open to not kill Joel?, I don’t know”

“Yeah, that… haven’t been able to convince her myself yet, I mean I think I’m close but I don’t know what it would take to convince her” said Dina “I feel bad for keeping her, she does not seem to be a terrible person… apart from her attempt to murder your old man I mean”

“I know, I kinda feel that she is quite interesting and had the circumstances been different I would have gotten along with her fine” said Ellie

Dina narrowed her eyes at Ellie

“How fine?” asked Dina

“What do you mean?” asked Ellie “I mean, fine enough I guess”

The strange jealousy Dina had felt ever since Ellie had named their prisoner _She-ra_ , came again. However she also remembered that only this morning she had been imagining her naked. Something odd was going on and she was starting to feel that keeping Abby for longer was going to mean trouble for both of them.

“What if we take her out… I mean Abby, and then we forbid Joel from going to patrols, he should be safe from her inside here, right?” suggested Dina

Ellie chuckled

“As if you could forbid him from going out, even if the whole army of fireflies that doesn’t exist anymore were after him he would still go out there, he’s not the kind to enjoy confinement” said Ellie “besides, she could find ways to sneak in and kill him, she’s smart”

Jealousy increased inside Dina with that praise from Ellie’s part in regards to Abby.

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to get rid of her, she talks too much about you” said Ellie and looked at Dina in the eyes

The shock and the content of that statement made her open her mouth and blush. She had to look elsewhere. Ellie was looking at her attentively and seemed to be annoyed at what she saw.

“You like that” said Ellie. 

It wasn’t a question.

“Well, it’s nice to know I am interesting” said Dina, nervously attempting to lie about why she was so flattered

“You already know that, but you like _her_ attention” said Ellie “what is going on here?”

“Don’t be silly” said Dina

“I’m not” said Ellie “do you find her attractive?”

“Don’t get started, Ellie” said Dina looking at her now “you are the one who named her after a gorgeous comic character”

“Gorgeous, really?” said Ellie a bit surprised now

“Don’t pretend, you find her attractive too” said Dina “it’s not just me and when I went to give her water not so long ago she was looking at that drawing you made of her. I mean, what was that?”

“I like to draw” said Ellie, defensively

“And you had to give her a drawing of her own self” said Dina “it was beautiful but really? You had to do that?”

Ellie pressed her lips together and sat on the bed.

“I wouldn’t have done it if I knew that would anger you…” said Ellie “I’m sorry”

Dina sighed and also sat in bed.

“Ellie, the thing is… it’s not about the drawing… it’s about what you feel… and I guess it’s about me too. I think… if we can be honest… I think we both find her interesting… and not just as a friend” said Dina with difficulty

Ellie looked at her with a pained expression.

“You are right” Ellie admitted “it scares me a bit”

“I know” said Dina “but whatever this is… I still like you a lot”

“Me too, I mean I honestly think I really really like you” said Ellie. She looked like she wanted to say more but she didn’t.

“In any case, it is very unlikely that she looks at us that way” said Dina reassuringly “and if she did… in this situation I wouldn’t really do anything. She’s our prisoner… if we were to express any interests in her it would feel like we are forcing her… like it’s a condition for her release and that is disgusting”

“Yeah, no… No, no, I wouldn’t do that… I mean… eww” said Ellie “it would be like that… disgusting dude…”

“The cannibals?” Dina asked, she remembered Ellie telling her this story

“Yeah” said Ellie and she looked like she wanted to puke “showing interest in a prisoner it’s just… no”

“Yeah… I was told and also read a couple of stories of abuse during the holocaust… even thinking about mentioning this to her it’s impossible to me” said Dina “if we convince her to not kill Joel and let her go… then I hope we can forget about her… maybe it’s just some crush, you know. I had a couple while I was dating Jesse”

“Was I one of them?” asked Ellie

“You know I always liked you” said Dina and pushed her slightly

“I always liked you too” smiled Ellie and kissed her. “You are right, we just need to find a way to convince her and let her go. We will soon forget about her once she is gone. You were always important to me after all”

“Eventually she would leave” said Dina “at least I hope she will desist and leave”

“And even if we… let’s say, help her escape and take her to her friends… we would part ways at some point” said Ellie “even if for some reason we stay in contact, if this is just a crush then it would eventually fade away, right?”

“Sure” said Dina and swallowed

“Otherwise… what could we do?” asked Ellie, looking at Dina

“I don’t know… do like that video we watched that time?” joked Dina

Ellie blushed furiously red and looked to the side, smiling a bit.

“I am not sure… It’s a… an idea I guess… but… uhm… probably it will be something that will just fade away. Surely” said Ellie

Dina hoped Ellie was right. She was a bit afraid she was starting to like that blond girl a bit too much.


	8. Joel

When he woke up he was still sore but he realized that he still had both of his legs. He was surprised enough to notice that he was still alive but the fact that his legs were still attached to his body was incredible. Immediately he asked for Ellie. 

“I am here” said Ellie

“Ellie” said Joel 

“You are finally awake” said Ellie

“Why the fuck did you do something so stupid?” complained Joel but he smiled at her.

Ellie smiled.

“After all these years you still suck at saying thank you, old man” said Ellie

“You still do reckless stuff. You are not 15 anymore” said Joel

“Hey, I saved your ass, stop complaining” said Ellie

Joel sighed. Tommy entered the room and went to hug him.

“I thought I had lost you” said Tommy

“No, still around” said Joel

“So, who were these people?” asked Joel

Ellie stood up and went to the window. Joel had the feeling he had asked something he rather not know. 

“Former fireflies” said Ellie, curtly

“Oh” said Joel

“Abby. She’s the daughter of the doctor that would have made the cure” said Ellie and looked at him

She was still pissed. Joel did not know what to say but then something about the conversation called his attention.

“How do you know this?” asked Joel

“She’s being kept at the old police precinct” said Tommy annoyed “I wanted to kill her but Ellie here thinks it is interesting to keep her alive”

“Why is that?” asked Joel. He wasn't furious, just curious. 

Ellie looked at them both.

“We need to know if more of them are coming. We need to know their plans” said Ellie

“Have you been torturing her?” asked Joel looking at Tommy

“No” said Tommy, even more annoyed and looking at Ellie. 

Joel looked at Ellie alarmed, he did not like the idea of her torturing people. But Ellie shook her head.

“Dina and I just talked to her, people still talk if you don’t torture them, you know? Dina thinks she must be younger than 25, she is not that old even” said Ellie, accusatory at both of them

“You don’t know if she is telling the truth” said Tommy

“We checked her stuff too” said Ellie, “I think she is” 

“Very well” said Joel and sat up “take me to her”

“No, you need to rest” said Ellie, worried

“I am fine, take me to her” said Joel

“You might want to get dressed first” said Tommy

“Oh, sure,” said Joel. Joel got dressed and they put him in a wheelchair. He still wasn’t strong enough to walk that far.

Ellie pestered him all the way to be careful, to not approach her, that she was stronger and that he was in no condition to torture anyone and that had he been she did not want him to torture her. Joel listened and assured her that was not his intention. However they didn't notice he had grabbed a gun, he rather be prepared for anything. When they reached the place he saw that Abby was reading but when she saw them she stood up alarmed and angry. Joel asked both Ellie and Tommy to leave him there for some minutes. Ellie and Tommy stared at each other but left assuring both Abby and Joel that they would not be far from there. 

Abby stayed there and clenched her fists tightly. Joel had no doubt that had she been able to kill him with that book she would have. She was probably calculating if she could do that.

“Hello Abby” said Joel “like your new place?” 

Abby only stared at him in anger.

“I still have not heard your speech, or maybe you had no speech for your big moment” said Joel

Abby scoffed. 

“Had it not been for your daughter, you would be dead” said Abby baring her teeth

“Had it not been for Tommy and I, you would be dead” said Joel to remind her of how they saved her

Abby sighed furiously. 

“I would have escaped on my own” said Abby

“You wouldn’t have” replied Joel

“If you are expecting an apology you are wasting your time!” yelled Abby.

“Funny, I think the same” said Joel

Abby seemed confused.

“Ellie told me your reasons, you want to avenge your dad. I get it. Who doesn’t want to avenge their family? I fantasized about avenging my daughter many times but I never found the man who ordered that soldier to shoot at us, the one who caused my daughter’s dead” said Joel calmly

Years ago he would not have been able to talk about these things. The time with Ellie had changed all that. Abby seemed more confused. 

“I thought… Ellie” said Abby

“Oh, I am talking about another daughter, one I lost years ago” said Joel

“Oh” said Abby then she seemed to remember who she was talking with “so are you saying that you are proud of yourself, of dooming humanity?”

“Who the hell would be proud of that?” said Joel “I am happy I saved the life of a child who was going to be sacrificed against her will” 

Abby looked at him, still angry but somehow her stare softened. She was doubting something. Joel continued. 

“I am sorry I caused your dad's death but nobody was asking me or her what we thought about the procedure, they were just going to operate on her, just kill her. Marlene did not even let me say goodbye, she did not even let her wake up to ask her what she wanted. They were just going to go ahead and kill her in her sleep. A child! Do you know the shit we went through to get there? She almost died so many times, she almost got eaten by cannibals, she almost drowned. I know I am not the best person alive but I don’t regret saving that child. I might have been a coward before but not then” said Joel

"You think killing all those people makes you brave?" asked Abby, angrily

"Is it brave to go after a kid to kill her? They would have gone after her" replied Joel "I couldn't let them"

Abby opened her mouth but then shut it and looked to the side. She sat and seemed to be lost in thoughts.

“What do you want from me?” asked Abby after a while, without looking at him

“Me? Nothing really, it seems like Ellie wants something from you, seems like she believes it is best if you are alive, she is the only reason why you are still alive really. I just wanted to know what it was” said Joel

“And?” asked Abby

“I can’t say it yet, we will see about that” said Joel

Abby just pressed her lips and nodded, still not looking at him.

“Well, since neither is sorry, then I think it is best if you leave me alone now” said Abby

“You seem to forget who is the prisoner here” said Joel

Abby sighed in clear frustration at the situation she was in.

“Fine” she said, then grabbed her book, opened it, leaned against the wall and started reading. 

She resolutely ignored Joel and somehow that reminded Joel of Ellie’s tantrums. He remembered too the times when Sarah had done similar childish things to ignore his advice or suggestions. He couldn’t help but smile. Abby might be deadly but she was still just a girl.

“How old are you?” asked Joel amused

Abby rolled her eyes and covered her face with the book. 

“I think Dina is right, you can’t even be 25, 20 maybe?” suggested Joel

“22” answered Abby without showing her face

Joel found the situation amusing despite how heavy it all was. He moved the wheelchair and left the room.

Ellie was waiting with Dina in the other room. Ellie came to him the moment he approached and put her hand on his shoulders. She observed him and maybe when she noticed he wasn't hurt she seemed relieved to see him. The fear of losing him had probably an effect on her reactions towards him but Joel knew that this was temporary. Underneath all that Ellie was still angry, that was clear.

"I'm ok, she was far away and luckily stares can't kill yet" said Joel

"Luckily indeed" said Ellie

Joel chuckled. Had that been the case Ellie herself would have killed him ages ago.

"So?" asked Dina 

Joel shrugged.

"Couldn't get much out of her, except that she hates me and would rather I drop death" said Joel 

Ellie looked elsewhere

"Are you shocked about that?" asked Ellie tensing her jaw

"No" said Joel "had I been her I wouldn't have done things differently, to be honest"

Ellie scoffed

"I do think you guys are a bit similar" said Ellie still tense "just going ahead and doing reckless things without a thought about the consequences"

Dina cleared her throat and looked at Ellie pointedly.

"What?" asked Ellie

"Really?" asked Dina "and that doesn't perfectly describe  _ you _ ?"

Joel and Ellie looked at each other and chuckled despite all. Joel felt slightly hopeful. Maybe they could indeed start over. Maybe there was a future for Ellie and him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In here Abby didn’t get her revenge and I know the game is super heavy and sad and all that but have you seen what the world is outside? I need humor, ok? So there is going to be some of that here.


	9. Ellie

It had been three days since Ellie was taking food to Abby but it was somehow something she was starting to look forward to doing. They had learned a bit more about her but they still hadn't reached an agreement with Abby. Both Dina and Ellie had moved to the police precinct since that day Tommy had tried to go and shoot at Abby. He wanted to at least make sure she would lose a leg because it seemed that Joel was going to lose one. Luckily he seemed calmer since the doctors had managed to save Joel’s leg but they still did not trust him. 

They had moved a couple of things to be able to sleep and cook there. It wasn’t the nicest of places but Ellie enjoyed having an excuse to be around Dina more often. She definitely enjoyed the sex part, even if the circumstances of them living together now weren't the happiest Ellie really loved Dina's company. The situation gave them a chance to discuss all sorts of things, even difficult things, and it was nice to wake up next to her everyday. It made Ellie consider that they should probably move together soon in the future. Even though recently they had really complex things they had to deal with, how they were discussing it made Ellie feel that the relationship was strong enough to deal with them. She hoped they would be able to at least.

“Good morning Abby” said Ellie and gave her the tray as she always did, keeping enough distance. Ellie could not forget how strong Abby was.

“Good morning Ellie” said Abby annoyed 

Abby was quieter today than other days. It seemed that Joel’s visit had an impact on her. She ate silently looking at no particular point in her cell.

“You know maybe your uncle is right, you should have just shot me when you had the chance” said Abby

“Why are you saying that now?” asked Ellie

“Your dad, he doesn’t regret shit” said Abby

“I know” said Ellie and looked down. 

Ellie was glad Joel was alive and she had told him that she would try to forgive him but she was still devastated about the lost chance for a vaccine. She wished she could change things but she had no way to do that. Still, she didn’t want to cry in front of this woman so she tried not to do that but her face must have betrayed her feelings because Abby was staring at her. She could just feel those intense blue eyes on her.

“It’s not your fault. That is not what I am saying” indicated Abby

Reluctantly, Ellie dared to look at her. Abby was still observing her. Ellie looked down again. The blonde had no reason to try and comfort her but here she was, trying anyway. Despite the strangeness of it all, her attempt to do so felt nice.

“Having those weak moments, it makes no sense, you know that either I die or your dad dies, there is no way around it” said Abby

“What do you mean with weak moments?” asked Ellie, choosing to focus in something she thought she could deal with right now

“I mean when I fought my friends so that you would not be killed. It made no sense just as it makes no sense that you are fighting your uncle over a stranger like me” explained Abby

“I talked with Dina about this” said Ellie “We don’t think it’s weakness, neither of your part nor mine, I think it is just what makes us human”

Abby scoffed, incredulous.

“Are you for real?” asked Abby

“Yes, I think you can’t be that bad if you spared a total stranger” insisted Ellie

“Do you think I trained all these years so that I would come and give Joel a hug?” asked Abby mockingly

Ellie looked at her and now paid closer attention to her well built body and her muscles. She was massive and definitely stronger than her. Obviously she had put a lot of effort in her revenge plan. Ellie wanted to punch her when she remembered she had planned to kill Joel and had been close to doing so but then she shook her head. In some curious way Ellie felt she had betrayed Abby when she used her to save Joel. Abby had just tried to save her from her own friends. But it had been Ellie’s only choice and she was not really sorry. 

“Despite that, I think you can be a good person if you want to” said Ellie “at least, Dina thinks so”

Abby sighed. She put a hand in her head and looked at Ellie.

“Do you know what it was like? To lose one’s father?” asked Abby

“How old were you?” asked Ellie, looking down at the floor.

“18” said Abby “what does that-”

“Had you been successful in your plans, I would have found out exactly how you felt” interrupted Ellie looking at Abby.

Abby pressed her lips and looked to the side. Was that shame? Frustration? Ellie didn’t know. Suddenly, Ellie felt guilty. Had she died and the cure had been made, then this woman would not have lost her dad. Her dad would have made possible the end of cordyceps disease in humans. Instead he was dead, potentially making a cure not possible, while Ellie still lived uselessly. 

“What if I told you it is my fault?” asked Ellie

“How could it be your fault? Joel killed my dad, it wasn’t you” said Abby

Once more, the weight of the guilt forced Ellie to look down. It probably was for the best that she did not say anything but the remorse was eating her inside and despite her efforts to hold them back, her tears were ready to fall. She just sighed and tried to avoid looking at Abby. She pressed her lips together and once more wished she could just believe what Dina had told her, that her life was still worthy despite not having been used to make a vaccine. Abby's blue eyes were fixated on Ellie but she couldn’t look at her now. Her mind wandered on how Abby's dad looked, was he blond like her? Blue eyed? Tall? Was their voice cadence similar? Did he take her to parks, museums? Did he teach her how to shoot, did they share a hobby? Did he read to her when she was a child? Was he kind, thoughtful, tender? Every thought only increased her misery. He was supposed to be alive, not Ellie.

“It’s not your fault” insisted Abby

“You… don’t know that” said Ellie, rubbing her eyes, still avoiding Abby’s stare

“He chose this, nobody asked you what  _ you _ wanted” said Abby

Ellie looked at her, alarmed.

_ She knows _ , thought Ellie. She was relieved and scared at the same time. In less than a week, the secret she had been hiding from so many and for such a long time was suddenly known by two more people: Dina and Abby.

“My dad was conflicted but he insisted Marlene, she did not want to agree but he convinced her. There is one thing that Joel said yesterday and despite what I feel… he is right. Nobody asked the girl what she wanted” said Abby

“She wanted the vaccine to be made” replied Ellie looking at Abby in the eyes “That is what she wanted the most”

“She would have died” clarified Abby

“Even then” replied Ellie

Abby nodded but then she sighed.

“It’s too late though” said Abby

“Are you sure?” asked Ellie

“What do you mean?” asked Abby, confused

“In these days, what you mentioned… your group is big, you have more resources, a big hospital. Is there really no one out there able to do it?” asked Ellie “if they have the immune girl… couldn’t someone come up with a plan?”

“I don’t know, I would need to ask Mel and Nora” said Abby, intrigued.

“What if instead of revenge, you could finish what your dad started?” asked Ellie

Abby blinked. 

“I don’t even know if that is possible” replied Abby

“What if it is?” insisted Ellie

“What if this means the girl dies?” asked Abby “is this person aware of the danger?”

“Maybe there is another way, who knows? Anything is better than living like this” said Ellie

“Are you sure?” asked Abby sounding very doubtful “you do know how this could end”

“Yes” said Ellie and rose and came nearer “forget about Joel, let’s finish your dad’s job instead”

“If I agree to this” said Abby “we don’t know even if it is possible...” 

“Isn’t it better to at least try?” asked Ellie, hopeful.

Abby looked at her and seemed to ponder the idea for a while. 

“Yes it is” agreed Abby.


	10. Dina

“Are you out of your fucking mind?" asked Dina

"Dina this could help save so many people" said Ellie

"No" said Dina adamantly and crossed her arms

"Maybe they will find another way to do it, it doesn't necessary mean I will have to die" said Ellie but she didn't sound convinced

"What is your input on this?" Dina asked Abby, who was pretending to be engrossed in her book although they had specifically told her they wanted to discuss this with her. 

"Sorry, what?" said Abby

"Cut the crap. You don't fool anyone, I am completely sure that you heard everything" said Dina

Abby sighed.

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor, I don't know if someone else has found another way. It’s not something I can discuss, that is why I said it's best to ask my friend Nora or my friend Mel, they would know better since they worked with my dad" said Abby honestly

"So you can't make sure they won't kill Ellie" said Dina

Abby shook her head. 

"It's a risk, I know but don't you think it's worth it?" Insisted Ellie

"If you keep insisting on this I'll make sure you don't get there, I'll kill you myself right here" said Dina fuming

"Babe" said Ellie

"Don't you babe me" said Dina pointing at Ellie

"No one wants to kill her, we could go, consult with my friends and then, and only when we know that there is an option without killing her we let them know that we have found the immune girl" said Abby

"Why are you talking like that? You already know it's Ellie" said Dina putting her hands in her waist. 

Abby looked around as if someone would be listening. 

"As I understand, very few people know this but if someone were to be listening I rather they didn't know I knew or that don't accidentally find out who the immune person is" said Abby 

Dina approached her and spoke with a lower voice "Ok, we'll speak with a lower voice, happy?" 

"I'll be happier when I'm free but I'm happy as I can be" said Abby sarcastically

"I didn't ask but how did you know?" asked Ellie

"About you?" asked Abby

Ellie and Dina both nodded.

Abby sat straighter. 

"Because of what you two were saying and for what Joel said. He doesn't regret killing as many people as he did for the girl, it is obvious it was someone he cared about. On top of that you” Abby looked at Ellie “threw yourself in front of him to save him. You could have died. And when you made it clear he isn't your lover but your father… it didn't take long to notice it was you. And then… it was also the case that you feel so guilty" 

"Guilty?" asked Dina

"Yeah, Ellie is obviously guilty for having survived" said Abby

Ellie sighed and looked down. 

"Ellie, this isn't your fault" said Dina and put a hand on Ellie's shoulder

"That's what I said" said Abby

"Isn't it though? He did it for me" said Ellie

"You didn't ask him to do that" said Dina

"He did it, not you" insisted Abby

Ellie still seemed unconvinced. 

"In any case, I want to do this, this could be a chance to recover that lost opportunity" said Ellie

Dina tried to keep calm but she really wanted to slap some sense into Ellie. 

"Fine, but we'll do it as Abby said. We go, we first find out about the alternatives then, and only if there are alternatives we proceed and reveal who the immune person is" said Dina

She looked at Ellie and at Abby with as much seriousness as she could muster. It seemed to be working because both of them straightened before nodding.

"Talk" yelled Dina

"Yes" said both of them 

"Swear it, both of you" said Dina pointing at them

"Yes, I swear it" said Ellie

"I swear it, I won't reveal who she is" said Abby

Dina looked at them and narrowed her eyes. 

"If any of you betray me, you are going to wish a bloater got to you instead" said Dina

Abby and Ellie looked at each other and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as Jesse said, you don’t cross Dina


	11. Abby

Abby had neither expected nor wanted to talk with Joel. He was obviously unrepentant, although he did say he was sorry she had lost her dad. Joel had seemed like someone who wanted to mock her and she wished to kill him but remembering what Ellie and Dina had been telling her about him was unavoidable. And of course he reminded her of how he had saved her from the horde. She had to admit that part of the whole deal made her feel uncomfortable. It had been shitty but she really wanted revenge. She had not expected Joel to tell her about her lost daughter and unfulfilled revenge fantasies. She hadn't known he had lost a daughter before Ellie. What also made her uncomfortable was hearing Joel say that he had to kill those people so that no one would go after Ellie. Abby's friends almost did the same. They almost killed Ellie so that she would not go after them. It bothered Abby that the line that divided Joel from her own self was somewhat blurry.

While he spoke about the child he saved from the fireflies she finally realized he was obviously talking about Ellie. Everything fitted, why else would Ellie have thrown herself in front of him to protect him? Ellie called him dad but they looked nothing like the other. She remembered Dina mentioning how Abby’s dad had been close to taking something precious from Joel. It was obvious both Ellie and Joel cared about each other, Joel cared about Ellie enough to let Abby live just because Ellie said so. However, considering he had risked it all for her, Abby knew for sure that if he suspected she was aware that Ellie was the immune person he would just shoot her right there to protect Ellie. Even in the poor light conditions she was in she saw he was carrying a gun. 

So she sat still and thought it through. So far she had spoken with both Ellie and Dina and it seemed both wanted to release her, even if that went against the wishes of the people who ran this place. Up to that point she had not managed to escape. Both of them had been careful enough to give Abby no chance to do so. Although both had been kind to her too. Their behavior made Abby think she could get released by them if she just managed to convince them she was ok with Joel living. But Abby still resented the idea. Although now that she knew more about him through Ellie and Dina she had to admit he wasn't a monster. Even now as he was there, in a wheelchair, the image just didn't fit with Abby's idea of him, however much she tried putting the image on him. Slowly she began to accept she had to let him go. It has already been two days since she had last seen her friends, they could be in danger, they could be dead. She needed to go to them to make sure they were ok and help them if possible. So she pretended she didn't realize that Ellie was the immune girl. However when Ellie came to talk to her the following day she immediately noticed how guilty Ellie felt about what had happened but still she talked pretending not to know and for some reason Ellie also talked to her as if the immune person was someone else. Only when Dina addressed the issue directly did Abby say she obviously knew. Despite their efforts Ellie still felt guilty and as if she needed to be the one to correct what had been done. Abby didn't feel like lying to Dina or Ellie, so she told them the truth, that making a cure could still mean they had to kill Ellie and she didn't know if there was another way. So she proposed to get to her friends, particularly Mel and Nora, and only after inquiring about other options and obtaining a positive response would they reveal Ellie was the immune person. 

Dina really didn't need to threaten them and even when Abby knew she was mostly joking, she fully believed Dina could do to her things that would make her prefer facing a horde of infected. Dina had a flirtatious and seemingly lighthearted personality but that did not mean she was incapable of causing harm. Ellie had mentioned how capable Dina was in repairing electrical materials and of making bombs. Dina would certainly manage to concoct some terrible ways to get rid of her had she set her mind to it. If she could get rid of three adult men when she was just a girl then despite her size she was not to be underestimated. Ellie was sullen very often but some days she saw she also had a very humorous nature and would use the worst puns Abby had ever heard in her life. Her humor was so terrible it was sometimes good. She puzzled Abby, in particular when she made that drawing of her, it was a really good sketch and she was keeping it inside her book. However Ellie was also extremely agile and sneaky, Abby would not forget how quick witted she was when she took the seconds of distraction on Abby and her group to take Abby hostage. Although she knew she was stronger than this girl she knew that she was still clever enough to be deadly. When Ellie said Abby would not have been alive had she succeeded in killing Joel, Abby believed her. 

Abby needed to be careful around these two but at the same time she felt the agreement they had reached was good for her and she kept feeling strangely interested in both of them. If Ellie truly wanted to help them make a cure then maybe it was her chance to do something good in the name of her fallen fireflies comrades, in particular of her dad. The night they decided they would do this was the first time she did not have a horrendous dream. Maybe Dina was right when she mentioned she needed to build something in order to stop having nightmares. 

The reality was though, that Abby didn’t know if making a vaccine was even possible, she just knew that she needed to help her friends. Somehow spending time with these people and reflecting had caused a change in Abby. By the time they were going to escape she wished to kill Joel no more, after seeing that it would destroy Ellie. Abby would not say it out loud but for some reason Ellie became interesting to her, she felt drawn to her and to Dina and she knew it was crazy but she wanted to try this, helping these girls and maybe attempting to make a cure appealed to her.

That following night Ellie turned all the lights off earlier than usual and they all pretended they were going to sleep. Abby heard Ellie and Dina were talking about something that seemed to be amusing because they quietly laughed and kissed. She would have sworn she heard them talk about love or something and felt strangely out of place. She couldn’t really go anywhere but she felt she shouldn’t be listening to those two talking about their intimate feelings. Half an hour after doing that Ellie came to Abby’s cell and opened it. 

“Please, don’t make me regret this” whispered Ellie as she approached Abby and tried to release her from the handcuffs.

Dina was standing near her, carefully observing Abby. She knew that if she tried anything funny Dina would probably blow her head off.

“Sorry, wrong key” whispered Ellie frustrated as she tried another key. 

Ellie placed a knee next to Abby’s bed then as she kept looking for the keys she ended up sitting near Abby. This was the first time she was that close since the first time they had met. The light was poor but Abby could still distinguish Ellie’s furrowed brows as she tried to find the damn key. She noticed Ellie had freckles and started noticing other details in Ellie’s face, like how there was a cut in her brow and other little wounds here and there, and then she realized she had been staring and felt self conscious. For some reason she was starting to feel nervous about how close to her Ellie was.

“Can’t you use the lantern?” whispered Abby impatiently

“We need to be careful, someone could see from outside and come” whispered Ellie

Abby sighed and looked away. Ellie was getting closer and closer to Abby as she tried other keys. Abby was running out of space to sit as she tried to get away from her.

“You are getting too close to me” complained Abby, still whispering 

“Oh, sorry for invading your personal space while I am trying to free you” mocked Ellie

Abby rolled her eyes. Finally Ellie found the right key and released Abby from her handcuffs. Abby stood up and stretched a bit. It had been a long time since she had been able to use that arm normally. 

“Here’s your backpack and more clothes, She-ra” whispered Dina as she gave Abby her backpack

“What?” whispered Abby as she grabbed more layers of clothes, a hat and her backpack.

“Oh, there was this old comic, about the strongest woman in the universe and she kinda looks like you” said Ellie laughing then she covered her mouth and tried to laugh in a lower voice. 

“You read comics?” asked Abby and almost laughed

“Yeah, among other things” said Ellie shrugging and smiling

“Shush it you two” whispered Dina “C’omon, you still want to shower, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but it’s not a priority” said Abby

“We repaired that damn thing thinking of you” complained Ellie “now go and shower, you disgusting pig, the runners are going to follow your scent if you go like that”

“Ooh, someone has a delicate nose” mocked Abby

Dina rolled her eyes and gave Abby a towel. 

“Just be quick about it, please” said Dina

Abby was quick and also surprised that the clothes that Dina had picked for her fitted her so well. How did she know?

“So?” asked Ellie “feeling more like a human now?” 

“Actually, yes, how did you know these would fit me?” asked Abby to Dina

“Let’s just go,” said Dina and gestured for them to keep it low. Abby would have sworn Dina had blushed a bit just now.

“She’s just good at these things” mentioned Ellie

“Extremely good, these are even more comfortable than my previous clothes” commented Abby

“Keep it low” whispered Dina 

Without noticing they had started speaking louder before Dina reminded them they needed to be quieter so now they shut up and followed Dina. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious, Dina was totally obsessed with Abby's body, that's how she knew what would fit.   
> Am I projecting? Maybe so  
> Am I ashamed? I am past that, folks


	12. Ellie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to make some assumptions about aspects of this area, hope you don't mind

When Ellie turned off the lights they had their backpacks and clothes and food all ready. They were really doing this. She had wanted to convince Dina to stay but Dina had looked at her seriously before speaking.

“You go, I go, end of story” said Dina

Even in that darkness Ellie noticed her features and how gorgeous she was. Once more she felt lucky to have her by her side. She really appreciated that Dina would be so loyal.

“Thank you” said Ellie

“Don’t thank me yet, I know you, I know you may want to try and escape and throw your life for that vaccine but I am not letting you” said Dina

Ellie felt like she was caught. Dina really knew her too well.

“I gave you my word, I am not doing it, ok?” said Ellie sheepishly 

“Swear it” said Dina

“I swear it” replied Ellie “I wasn’t joking the other day, I do love you, I don’t want to disappoint you” 

Ellie had confessed the other day but Dina had not really said what she felt and Ellie felt vulnerable and confused. Was she being too pushy? Dina just looked at her and caressed her face.

“Oh, Ellie, I love you too... but if She-ra’s guys tell us that you will die making a vaccine and you go with them then I will personally hunt you down and bring you back, even if I have to tie you like a burrito and pull you by the hair” said Dina

Ellie laughed and looked down. That was the sweetest thing someone had ever said to her, even if it was a threat. Ellie kissed her then and Dina laughed too.

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave” joked Ellie

“I have my doubts” said Dina but she was smiling “you can be quite unreasonable”

“I am not,” said Ellie indignantly "you on the other hand…"

“I'm not. And you are also stubborn” said Dina “and you make a joke out of everything”

“Hey, you like my jokes” complained Ellie

“Of course I do but we won’t be alone, or are you planning on torturing She-ra here with your puns?” asked Dina

“Please, I bet I can make her laugh before we meet her friends” said Ellie

“Oh, you are on, what is the prize?” asked Dina

“Uhm…” Ellie had not counted on this, she shrugged and smiled “a kiss?” 

Dina rose an eyebrow “Really, we don’t need bets for that”

“But it will feel different” Ellie elaborated, not really thinking this through

“Ok, your choice” said Dina and smiled again

“Now we should get moving and free She-ra” said Dina

“Yeah, let’s do that” said Ellie

“I just have a question, if she is She-ra, who are we? Mermista? Entrapta? Perfuma and Scorpia?” asked Dina

“I am not as big and fluffy as Scorpia but you are definitely as smart as Entrapta and you can be quite nurturing as Perfuma” thought Ellie

“Your muscles are more defined than mine, that’s for sure” said Dina

Ellie flexed her muscles and pretended to show off to Dina. 

“You like it?” said Ellie teasingly

Dina caressed Ellie's arm and gave her a kiss. 

“Yes, I thought I made that clear last night” whispered Dina to Ellie.

“It doesn’t hurt to know” shrugged Ellie

“But you already know” teased Dina “now let’s go, or we’re not escaping tonight”

Ellie knew Dina was right but she was enjoying this too much. After some minor delays they finally left. They went as quietly as possible. It was not easy because there were people patrolling the way out. After what seemed like hours they managed to sneak out. Although even outside they had to be careful because there were people controlling the way in and out. They went slowly and carefully all the way to the house where Abby had stayed with her friends. It was almost midday already when they reached the house, it had taken that long to avoid detection and plus there was a lot of snow everywhere. When they reached the house they saw that it was in a worse state than what Ellie remembered.

“What happened here?” asked Abby

“I don’t know” said Ellie 

“When we left this place we saw that a truck of people were coming here and so we ran out of here” said Dina “the truck where your friends were going went in one direction and one of the trucks of these people with scars followed them while the other truck came to this house. But we know the terrain so we managed to escape them”

“Maybe they decided to come here and see if someone remained” said Ellie “when I arrived here some time earlier I set some backpacks on fire, two of your people came and I put them to sleep” 

Abby looked at her, surprised “Sleep?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know anything about them right there, I suspected something weird was going on but I couldn’t just kill people that could be running away from infected or something” said Ellie

“You are far more lenient than any wolf would be at this point. But then again you have not been at war for years over a piece of land. Let’s see what we find inside” said Abby

“We should be careful, we don’t know if someone else is here” said Dina

“True” said Ellie, “so, who are those people with the marks in their faces?” 

“They are the Scars. It’s a group of religious fanatics, they are from Seattle like us, they are fighting over our land” said Abby

“Who is us?” asked Dina

“We are a military group, WLF, they call us wolves” said Abby

“And you mock me for reading comics” scoffed Ellie.

_ Wolves, what a stupid name _ , thought Ellie.

“I didn’t mock you and what is wrong with our name?” asked Abby

“You totally mocked her, and your name sounds like something kids who are having a snowball fight would call themselves” said Dina

“Totally,  _ Look at us, the wolves versus the scars _ ” mocked Ellie “sounds like a kid tv show from the past”

Abby looked like she wanted to slap them both.

“This is serious, they are dangerous terrorist and they have killed a lot of my people” complained Abby

“Oh, and you just stared? You didn’t ever kill one of them?” asked Ellie

“I killed plenty of scars, what is your point?, I needed to defend my place” complained Abby

“Whatever, we are here to see if we can find your friends, let’s focus on that” said Ellie, uninterested

“Less fighting, more investigating” said Dina snapping her fingers at both of them

“You are annoying but you are right” conceded Abby while looking at Dina, then she looked at Ellie “I just wish you didn’t think everything is a joke”

“Gotta cope with this shitty world somehow, She-ra” said Ellie.

Abby rolled her eyes but Ellie knew she was getting to the point where she would laugh at her jokes. Just a matter of time.

They found that the place was partially burned, probably caused by Ellie but there were traces of other people having been there too. Then they found Nick and Leah, or what remained of them. They were both covered in arrows and their throats have been slit too.

“You said you put them to sleep” said Abby horrified looking at Ellie

“I didn’t do this!” yelled Ellie. She hadn’t, she remembered only hitting them and making them faint.

“Look at Ellie’s arrows, do they look like those?” asked Dina

Abby approached the bodies of her friends. 

“Scars. So they are actually here. Why?” said Abby

“We hoped you could tell us. We don’t know anything about your war” said Dina

“I don’t know really” said Abby “but we better check more” 

“Wait” said Ellie “uhm.. don’t you want to bury them?”

“Do we have the time?” asked Abby

“They are your friends, right?” asked Ellie

“Yeah, we can help you so it will be faster” said Dina

Abby sighed but agreed. When they were moving her friends to be buried, Ellie saw that Leah had binoculars in her pockets and she took them. Who knew if they could be useful on the way? After they buried her friends they continued checking. Abby did not seem like she wanted to stay and say some words for the departed or anything like that. They found a basement where there were traces of people having slept there. Abby thought that was odd since none of the wolves had slept there and they also saw a small carving of the scar prophet there. They could not find much else so they decided to go in the direction Dina saw the wolves leave. Abby told them she suspected where they had gone so they followed that path. It was harder to do by foot since it would take them longer. When she commented where they were probably directed to, Dina mentioned she knew a shortcut. At one point they had to cross an old bridge that was slightly narrow. From the look of complete horror on Abby’s face Ellie deduced she was not fond of heights. She was trying very hard to hide this fact but she was failing miserably.

“Don’t worry, this bridge is old but is sturdy, it won’t fall” said Ellie reassuringly

“Just don’t look down” said Dina and smiled at her

Abby sighed and held to the railing of the bridge and kept walking. However at one point there was a part of the railing that gave in and Abby almost fell. Dina grabbed her arm and Ellie grabbed her by the waist and moved her to sturdier ground. Abby looked down as the piece of the railing fell. She was probably imagining that could have been her. 

“Hey” said Ellie trying to make her focus on something else “we got you” 

Abby looked at them both and nodded. She swallowed, she was obviously still terrified at the height they were in but tried to be more careful. Ellie and Dina released her and Abby sighed. 

“Are you ok?” asked Dina

“Yeah. I hate this” said Abby, trying to catch her breath

“Don’t worry, there is not much left” said Dina

Abby nodded and followed them. But she looked to the side and started to look nauseated again. Ellie placed a hand on Abby’s face and made her look in front.

“See, there? Not much left, we are almost there” said Ellie encouragingly

Abby blinked and looked at her. Then she looked in front and it seemed she realized Ellie was right. But she still tried to look to the side, maybe to make sure she was far away enough of the border. Dina and Ellie discussed that this was not going to work and came up with a plan. Abby seemed immersed in her fear and seemed not to notice they were talking. Then Ellie squeezed in front of Abby and ended up behind her. Abby paled when she saw what Ellie was doing.

“What the fuck are you doing, you could have fallen” complained Abby

Ellie grabbed Abby’s right hand and Dina grabbed Abby’s left hand.

“What is this?” asked Abby

“Now you won’t fall, if you trip, we’ll catch you” said Dina “Come”

Abby seemed like she wanted to complain but then she walked with them. It seemed like Dina’s idea worked, maybe Abby was feeling safer like this. Finally they crossed to the other side. Abby sat on the floor and she was obviously relieved that they had finally made it.

“Please tell me there are no more bridges like this” begged Abby

Dina looked to the side. 

“Take your time, She-ra, we have still some way to go” said Dina

“That doesn’t sound reassuring” said Abby

“You will be fine, we got you” said Ellie smiling and giving Abby the thumbs up. 

“There are worse bridges aren’t there?” said Abby desperately

“You can do it, don’t worry” said Ellie and gave her a thumbs up

To Abby’s chagrin there were worse bridges there but they helped her and somehow they reached a small house in Morgan’s compound that Abby mentioned she had seen on the way there. They went to investigate and found nothing however they were tired enough and needed to rest for a while. So they made camp that night and rested. 

Abby was already asleep but Ellie was still awake. Due to space they were all in the same room and for some reason Ellie kept looking at the blonde's back as she slept. The cadence as she inhaled and exhaled had her hypnotized but then Abby turned in her sleep and was now with her back on the floor and her head turned to the side. It was dark but Ellie could still notice her strong neck, the beginning of her jaw and her ear in the faint light. She could also notice the way her hair fell to the ground and she imagined that her braid was probably a bit messy from her tossing as she slept. Ellie was completely unable to stop staring at her. They were close enough that had she extended her arm, she could touch the blonde’s neck and she was disturbed by how much she wanted to do this. She wondered if Abby would wake up if she did that and if she would be shocked or angry, maybe she would hit her, or maybe she would restrain Ellie with her hands, pin her down, straddle her maybe. Frustrated, Ellie sighed and shook her head, making a hard attempt at brushing off these ideations that instead of causing fear - as they should - were causing her heart beatings to accelerate. She couldn’t have that, she shouldn’t be looking forward to being restrained by Abby or even imagining doing the same to her. She turned to look at Dina and was surprised to notice Dina was also awake. Initially she felt ashamed and guilty, she was about to apologize but Dina didn't look angry and that gave her pause. No, Dina's look was of someone who understands the other's pain completely.

"I know" whispered Dina, sympathetically   


Ellie swallowed and gave Dina a pained look.

"I know" repeated Dina and held Ellie's hand "we'll figure something out"

Ellie pressed her lips together and nodded. She hoped they could.

"And if not?" whispered Ellie

"The movie… remember?" suggested Dina

Ellie wanted to chuckle but she didn't want to wake Abby up.

"Are you serious?" whispered Ellie

"If she’s willing...it's an option we could explore" whispered Dina, arching an eyebrow and shrugging

Ellie smiled at her. She doubted this but she was comforted in the thought that at least Dina was as lost as she herself was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thirst is real, folks


	13. Abby

Early the following morning Abby woke up and saw them asleep. They were holding hands and their foreheads were touching each other. They looked so sweet together but somehow Abby had a strange feeling. To her surprise she realized she was jealous. It was completely absurd. She woke them up and soon after that they got ready and left. They continued walking and found no trace of anyone around. Only a couple of infected here and there. 

Then they reached a cemetery and saw that there were people there. They approached them silently. It was a group of scars and they were running after some kids. But Abby saw that the kids were also scars and that confused her. However she did not pause to think much about this, so she just shot at the scars that were following the kids. They immediately saw Abby, Ellie and Dina so they split up and Ellie and Dina started shooting at them too. Ellie was quieter with her arrows and had deadly precision while Dina was more strategic in her use of bombs, molotovs and guns. The kids, when they noticed someone was shooting at the ones that were following them started shooting at the other scars with their arrows. Suddenly a big woman came from behind Abby and started attacking her with an axe. She fought her, escaped her and punched her but she was not easy to beat. However Abby was still agile and kicked the woman in the legs, making her fall, then she shot her in the head and that was the end of her. She stood up and saw that one of the scars was quietly going behind Dina so she shot at him. Dina looked back and saw the scar falling and then saw Abby. She smiled at Abby briefly and then continued shooting at the remaining scars. That smile was so brief but so endearing and gave Abby a strange feeling inside of a nature she was familiar with but hadn't really experienced in a while. Then Abby felt that someone was looking at her and looked right in time to see how Ellie was pointing at her and releasing an arrow. Abby had not enough time to react and the arrow flew right past her, too close for comfort, but then she heard someone behind her falling. 

She turned and saw that a Scar who was some feets behind her was now on the ground, with Ellie’s arrow on her head. She turned again to watch and saw Ellie looking at her and winking. Abby felt her face turn hotter but looked down. Then she hid behind some trees. Ellie came and was now next to her. 

“You ok?” asked Ellie

“I thought…” said Abby

“What? You think my aim is that bad?” joked Ellie then pointed at someone else, ran and shot. Abby shot at someone else and went next to Ellie. They both hid behind a big tombstone.

“No, I thought you were aiming at me” said Abby and shot at someone else. She saw another scar approaching but then someone who wasn’t Ellie hit that woman with an arrow. 

_ Strange _ , thought Abby.

“I am not killing the hero of the story” said Ellie jokingly. 

Abby looked at her puzzled

“I mean, She-ra, duh” said Ellie as if that was obvious

Abby rolled her eyes but then focused on shooting at someone else. She saw another scar falling with an arrow on his head and wondered who was shooting at these people because it had not been Ellie this time again. Another scar approached but Abby grabbed him and broke his neck.

“Damn girl, that was brutal” said Ellie as she shot another scar with an arrow. 

“You are killing them as fast as I am” complained Abby

“Not like that” said Ellie and threw a molotov at a group of scars. They screamed in pain as they died burning.

“That is probably a worse way to die and you know it” said Abby “I thought you guys were peaceful people”

“I went to FEDRA military academy and I was raised by Joel after that” said Ellie shrugging

“Oh” said Abby. 

_ That explains things _ , thought Abby. Dina had already told her something about her past so she knew why she was that vicious. 

Abby felt a movement on her left and turned around to see a man about to attack someone who was probably hiding on the other side of the tombstone behind her. She would have sworn she heard a child’s voice so she went after the man and tackled him, throwing him to the floor. She punched him until he stopped moving. When she turned to look, there was no one hiding behind that tombstone.

_ Strange, _ thought Abby.

Another grabbed her from behind and almost strangled her but that person was struck by an arrow and then she managed to throw him to the side, hold him in a lock and strangle him. She looked around and realized Ellie was shooting at other people and that she didn’t even seem to have noticed what had happened. Once more she wondered who had saved her. They heard a loud noise. It was a bomb and Dina was probably the cause. They saw her coming their way and then everything seemed quiet for a while. 

Dina was behind another tombstone near them. She looked at them and spoke.

“I think that was it, maybe they are all dead now” said Dina

“What about the kids?” asked Abby

“We’re here” said a voice behind a tombstone that was a few meters behind them. Tentatively a head rose and looked at them.

“She’s a wolf!” said another voice they could not see

“But she saved us,” said the girl who was looking at Abby, Ellie and Dina.

“We are not wolves or tigers or whatever” said Ellie

“Yeah” said Dina “we’re just people, no funny furry names”

Abby looked at them both as if she wanted to murder them but the kids spoke before she could come up with something to say.

“You were part of the people we came with” said the girl looking at Abby. She looked around and started to stand up but someone pushed her back down “Lev, I think they are dead now, we can leave this place”

“We can’t trust these people” said the voice they now knew was from someone named Lev

“Hey, he’s named like the guy in your book” said Dina to Abby

“True, how odd” noticed Abby

“Book?” asked the girl

“Yeah, she’s reading this novel and one of the characters is named Lev” said Dina

“Funny” said the girl and stood up again. 

She had the scars in her face, she was definitely one of those people. Normally Abby would have shot her, even if it was someone her age but she was intrigued, how could these people be here and why were they being hunted down by their own people? 

“You said I am part of the people you came with, can you explain more about that, why are you being hunted?” asked Abby

Another face approached from behind the tombstone and looked at them.

“They are following me because I shaved my head” said Lev

Abby, Ellie and Dina looked at each other. That was the worst excuse they had heard ever.

“Fine, keep your reasons to yourselves, can you at least explain to me how come you are here, so far from Seattle?” asked Abby

“We were escaping, the community turned against us and even killed our mother because we disobeyed them. So we were running from them and then we saw you guys leaving in that big truck, we heard that you were going to go far away and thought this was our chance, so we hid in your truck” said the girl “Unfortunately it seems some of our people saw us and followed us all the way here”

“How? We came here by truck, it was so far away” asked Abby

“They stole other trucks from you” said Lev as if it was the most obvious thing ever

“But I thought scars didn’t use technology and stuff” said Abby

“Seraphites,” corrected both of the kids

“Oh, you didn’t tell us that was their name” said Dina reproachfully to Abby

“Yeah, we don’t call them that” said Abby defensively

“But that is our name” said Lev defiantly

“Anyway, you didn’t answer the question” insisted Abby

“Some soldiers can use guns and cars if needed” said Lev

“That is convenient” said Abby

“You know what would be convenient? To find a place to rest” said Dina “It’s getting late” 

Ellie stood up and looked around with a pair of binoculars. Then she pointed at some houses far away.

“I see a big house over there, we could rest there” said Ellie and looked around some more “It does seem like they are all gone” 

“That was a part of them, I think the other part went after your friends” said the girl

“In which direction?” asked Abby

“I think they went there” said Lev

“We were planning on going that way anyway” said Ellie “come with us, you seem hurt”

Abby then noticed that the girl had been hurt by an arrow on her shoulder and her left leg and was bleeding. 

“Here let me help” said Abby and approached

Lev immediately pointed his bow at her. 

“Lev, stop” said the girl “if they have not shot at us they will not do it now”

Abby looked to her sides, both Dina and Ellie were pointing at the kid. One mistake and they would all start killing each other. She held up her hands, one towards Ellie and Dina and another towards the kids. They needed to calm down, all of them.

“I just want to help” said Abby “I won’t hurt her”

“Lev, they would have killed us by now and they haven't,” said the girl. Lev shook his head so the girl insisted “Lev…”

Only then, Lev lowered his bow. Abby looked at Dina and Ellie and saw them lowering their guns

“Better” said Abby and sighed. Slowly she came to the girl.

“I am Abby, these are Dina and Ellie” said Abby and pointed at them. Ellie and Dina nodded to the kids. Then Abby looked at the girl “what is your name?”

“Yara” said the girl

“Ok Yara, I can help carry you. Is that ok with you?” asked Abby

Yara nodded and Abby carefully grabbed and carried her. 


	14. Dina

Ellie directed them to the house, which was notoriously big. She imagined there must be so many infected there so she recharged her guns and checked on her knives. Before opening the door Ellie looked at Dina and they nodded to each other. There was a thrilling current shared by them at that moment, she knew this was dangerous but it felt strangely good to do this with Ellie. They were a great team, they had always been and Dina couldn’t help but think that she should have made her move months ago, in retrospect it was obvious that they had always been into each other. First Dina and her entered and cleaned it from infected, then they let the others in. 

“Cleaning services are done, it’s a pleasure to work for the great She-ra” said Ellie jokingly when she opened the door.

Abby rolled her eyes but laughed. Yara and Lev just looked at them puzzled.

“You are such an idiot” commented Abby

“You got it babe, you made her laugh” said Dina and kissed Ellie who was extremely proud of herself. It was cute in its incredible silliness.

“What is going on?” asked Abby as she lay Yara down in a sofa

Dina closed the door and put a chair to block the way in.

“We made a bet, Ellie said she could make you laugh before we met your friends and I said it would take longer. Ellie just won” said Dina

Ellie looked quite proud of herself. Abby shook her head.

“Do you guys take anything seriously? Like anything at all?” asked Abby, partly annoyed but partly amused

“We take our relationship very seriously” said Ellie as she hugged Dina

“Completely” said Dina as she watched smugly at Abby

“How long have you been together?” asked Lev

“A month and a half” said Ellie

“But we have know each other for ages” said Dina

“You don’t look that old, It can’t be ages” said Lev

“It’s a way of speaking, it does not mean that we have actually met for ages” said Dina

“Then why would you say that?” said Lev, confused

“Hey, assholes, have any of you brought any bandages and alcohol? I think Yara is bleeding too much” said Abby to Ellie and Dina

“Oh, I have some kits” said Ellie “Let me help”

"Just give me the kit" said Abby

"Ok, boss" joked Ellie

"Ugh, stop mocking me" complained Abby

"Sure, boss" joked Ellie, again, as she gave Abby the kit

"I have to agree with Abby", said Dina

Ellie looked puzzled

"There just can't be two bosses" said Dina and shrugged

"I was joking" said Ellie

"Ooh, someone is angering boss," said Abby mockingly. Her attempt to imitate Ellie’s voice was so terrible it was endearing. 

Dina chuckled and Ellie smiled. At least Abby was relaxing enough to try and make jokes now. Abby tended to Yara while Dina looked for clothes she had in her backpack. She realized she didn’t really have that many and Yara needed something else since her clothes were tore and outside it was still freezing.

“I am not sure I have enough but we can search in this house, Lev” said Dina to Lev “Why don’t you help me search for clothes?”

Lev looked at Yara as if he was asking something and then Yara nodded.

“I am fine, you can go” said Yara

“Ok, just whistle if anything happens” said Lev

“I rather you didn’t but I guess that is your way” said Abby

“What do you mean?” asked Ellie

“That is the way they communicate, it’s pretty eerie” said Abby

“Sounds cool, can you teach me?” asked Ellie

Abby looked annoyed at Ellie but Ellie just ignored her.

“What is cool?” asked Yara

“It’s like awesome, amazing” said Abby

“Come,” said Dina to Lev.

They looked around and chose some clothing options and they were lucky enough they found stuff that could fit Yara and even Lev, the rest of the clothes they said they could use as blankets for the night. 

“So, your group, the Seraphites, they are pretty strict, uh?” said Dina

“Why?” asked Lev

“Well, to hunt you down all the way here because you disobeyed some rules, sounds very extreme” said Dina

“Yeah, they… I think they misinterpret the rules of our prophet. She did miracles, she saved people, she wanted peace, I don’t think they would have approved of what some of the members in our group are doing now” said Lev

“I can imagine” said Dina “do you pray?”

“Yeah, we meditate too” said Lev

“It can be pretty relaxing, I find it helps me become calmer” said Dina

“You are religious?” asked Lev

“Yes, I mean, in some way, my family, we come from a long line of survivors” said Dina

“That is interesting, what did you survive?” asked Lev. They were approaching Yara and the others now.

“Many things, one of the big things was the holocaust, my people were hunted down in several moments in history” said Dina

“Really?” asked Ellie “you have to tell me more about this”

“I am also curious” said Lev “specially if you have ideas how to survive being hunted down”

“We can help you with that” said Dina

“So, what rule did you guys break?” asked Abby, again.

“I told you, I shaved my head” said Lev as he was giving the clothes to Yara

“He wasn’t allowed to do that, it was against the rules.” said Yara

“Ok, that was really punk rock of you then” said Abby

“What is punk rock” asked Lev

“It just means that you don't follow rules. If you did that knowing the consequences, that was brave” explained Abby

“I agree, Lev is very brave.” said Yara and looked at Lev. He looked at her with gratitude in his eyes

“We had to run, especially after we saw how they treated our mother. We had nothing left after they did that” said Lev looking down

“I’m sorry” said Ellie, looking moved by their story. She bit her lower lip and then her face brightened again “I know, you guys can come with us, Jackson is a place for people who want a peaceful life”

“Yeah, you would be welcomed in Jackson” said Dina although she felt confused.  _ Weren’t we going to go somewhere else now? _

“Are you sure, even people like me would be welcomed?” asked Lev

“Sure, why wouldn’t you?” said Ellie

Lev seemed like he wanted to talk but decided against it. He just looked down.

“We’ll go with you” said Yara

“Uhm” said Abby “that is all fine but we still need to find my friends and you know… find out about the medicine” 

“I know, but after we meet your friends we can take Yara and Lev to Jackson, then go with your friends” said Ellie

“Sounds fair” said Dina “We owe it to them, I don’t know if you noticed but they also saved our asses, it wasn’t just us saving them”

“I realized someone else than Ellie was shooting arrows at the scars” said Abby

“Seraphites” corrected Yara and Lev

“I was going to say that” said Abby

“Anyway, let’s make something to eat” said Ellie and went to look for a place where she could prepare food.

They ate and then Abby covered Yara and Lev in blankets. The kids seemed exhausted and were asleep soon after that. In the meantime Abby, Dina and Ellie went around the house blocking all the entrances and making sure no infected remained inside. 

“Dina, Abby, come and see” said Ellie at some point. She sounded pretty excited.

“Where is that jackass?” asked Abby

“It seems like she found a basement” said Dina and briefly touched Abby’s arm “let’s investigate”

Abby blinked when Dina touched her and blushed slightly. Dina tried to pretend she didn’t notice and inwardly smiled. They went down some stairs and they found Ellie down a place that seemed to be full of bottles. She had found an electric lamp and turned it on. 

“What is this?” asked Dina

“A wine cellar” replied Abby looking around

“I am definitely taking some of this for Joel and Maria, they are going to forgive us after this” said Ellie grabbing a couple of bottles

Abby flinched when Ellie mentioned Joel but then she sighed and went to her.

“Don’t just grab whatever, do you know which are their favorite grapes?” asked Abby

“Uhm… tasty grapes?” guessed Ellie and smiled awkwardly

Dina laughed and Abby put a hand on her face.

“Seriously? Can’t you remember at least the color” asked Abby

“Maria had clearer looking wine bottles and Joel seems to like darker colored ones” said Ellie

“What do they normally like to eat?” asked Abby

“Food?” said Ellie and shrugged. 

Poor Ellie literally had no idea where Abby was going with these questions and by Abby’s reaction she seemed convinced that Ellie was pulling her leg. Dina put a hand on her mouth, if they continued like this she was going to die laughing here.  _ These idiots _ , thought Dina.

“Ugh!” grunted Abby “what kind of food, chicken, pork, pasta?”

“Abby, we have a nice place but it is still not like those fancy restaurant menus you see sometimes” said Dina, smiling “we have fruits and vegetables, and true, some chicken, goose and pigs but we don’t have enough room yet for cows, the few we have normally we use for milk, and game meat is rare. Pasta… sometimes I guess, some people make it. Some people know which mushrooms to eat even, and insects too. Maria is fine with anything but I don’t think that Joel is fond of insects” 

“Thank you” said Abby to Dina and then she looked at Ellie “see, much more helpful information”

“She was just being more specific” said Ellie shrugging

“Exactly” said Abby

Abby looked around and started picking some bottles. 

“Here, take these to Maria and these to Joel” said Abby

“Thank you, Abby… I’m… really… this is… thank you” said Ellie and smiled warmly at her. Seemingly not able to coordinate her thoughts or words, Ellie crouched and put the bottles in her backpack. As she was doing this Dina noticed that Abby was biting her lower lip. She was probably still processing what she had done - picking up wine for the man she had wanted to kill not so long ago - and the fact that Ellie was obviously aware of the magnitude of that gesture. Before Dina could say something else, Ellie talked once more “It’s gonna be a bit heavy” 

“I can take some in my backpack, so you don’t carry them all” suggested Abby, crouching next to Ellie and picking some of the bottles to put them on her own backpack. As she did this, a few strands of hair fell on her face. It was something very simple, something normal, just gravity but it made Dina want to go, crouch next to her, place those strands behind her ears and watch Abby’s reaction. Would she like that? Would she be upset? Flattered? Dina put her hands in her pockets instead.

“Thanks” said Ellie, once they had finished and had already stood up “see, you can be a nice person”

“Don’t make me regret it” said Abby

“I was raised to think that was a compliment, were you are from it isn’t?” asked Ellie

“You are such an ass” said Abby

“What’s that, you like my ass?” said Ellie and winked at Abby while pointing at her own butt. 

“Ugh” complained Abby but she was blushing again.

Dina grabbed one bottle and looked at it.

“This looks fancy,” said Dina “how come you know about these things?”

“My dad used to like wine, he mentioned his dad owned a vineyard and that he would one day take me there if the place was somehow still standing” said Abby

“Oh, sorry” said Ellie as she looked down

“It’s ok” said Abby and waved her hand dismissively. The air was tense regardless so Dina thought they needed to change the topic. 

“Do you want to try this?” asked Dina

Abby looked at her and at the bottle she was holding. Her features showed surprise, curiosity, interest, fear, worry and then doubt. For someone who tried to hide so much her face constantly betrayed all her emotions.

“We shouldn’t really” said Abby

“We locked everything up, we could try at least one bottle” suggested Ellie

“The kids are tired, they will probably sleep for a long time, they need to recover” said Dina

“I think I need to recover too,” said Ellie and grabbed the bottle from Dina’s hand. She looked around for a way to open it. Abby grabbed the bottle from Ellie’s hand.

“Give me that” and she turned around. After a while she opened it

“How?” said Ellie looking amazed

Abby opened her hands and showed them she had a corkscrew. 

“Where did you find that?” asked Dina

“It was just laying around here” said Abby shrugging “So, who wants to go first?”

Dina and Ellie looked at each other.

“You go ahead, you won the bet after all” said Dina

“But you already gave me a kiss, that was the prize” said Ellie

“Yeah, but this can be prize number two” said Dina

“Oh, I like that” said Ellie and grabbed the bottle and drank.

“Glad you changed your mind” said Dina looking at Abby

“One little bottle can’t hurt, right?” said Abby shrugging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am unsure if after all this time wine would have remained in a good state enough to try but since somehow bullets and guns are neverending - although technically no one is producing them now - and gas is still available in the game I am just going with “let’s suspend disbelief for a couple of things here”


	15. Abby

When she woke up she was sore as if she had done a lot of effort. She had ended up sleeping on the cold floor and it seemed her back resented her for it. Surprisingly enough, she had not had a nightmare since she decided to try and look for her friends and potentially look for a way to make a cure so she did not wake up screaming or scared this time. Then she realized a couple of things at the same time. First, that underneath the blanket that was covering her she was naked, second, that she was not alone under that blanket and third that there were at least two bodies tangled up with hers. She was immediately very much awake. Alarmed she looked and realized that, of course, these two bodies belonged to Ellie and Dina. Dina was asleep with her head on Abby’s chest while Ellie had her head in Abby’s shoulder.

  
_ What the fuck?! _ , thought Abby and started to freak out. Slowly memories from the previous night came to her. 

* * *

They had started with one bottle, then two and then she did not remember anymore. Maybe they drank three, four? She wasn't sure. They talked about silly things, how to better make traps, favourite games, favorite movies or books, favorite songs, among other things. They were sitting and drinking and Ellie was insisting she had better aim than Abby but Abby said that she was completely wrong while Dina just shook her head and drank in silence during this part of the conversation.

At one point Ellie started singing and - although she was actually good - she was so obviously drunk that she forgot part of the lyrics and that made Dina laugh so much that Abby also started laughing.

"Fuck you two" complained Ellie but she was also laughing "I want to hear you singing"

"Ok" said Dina and immediately she did a terrible rendition of an old rock song.

Abby had to hold herself from the wall to avoid falling to the floor, she was laughing so damn much but Ellie was already on the floor with tears in her face, holding her belly with both hands while she laughed and rolled around.

"Ok, now your turn" said Dina to Abby when she finished and she wasn't even ashamed of how terrible she had just sang. Typical Dina.

"Uhm, what?" asked Abby

"Yeah dude, sing" said Ellie, now recovered and sitting back on the floor.

"No" said Abby to Dina and snorted "if you want to make a fool of yourself don't expect me to follow your lead"

"Don't be boring, sing" insisted Ellie

"Yeah, I just totally destroyed that song, you can't be worse than that" said Dina

"I don't even know what to sing" admitted Abby

"Happy birthday song?" suggested Ellie

Dina cackled at that

"If you can't do that one then you are truly terrible" said Dina in between laughter 

"Fuck you" complained Abby but she was also still laughing

"C'omon dude, sing" insisted Ellie

"I don't know any lyrics by heart" admitted Abby

"You must know at least one song, at least part of it" suggested Dina

"I'm not sure" admitted Abby and racked her brain for any lyrics of any song she could remember. Then one popped in her mind but she thought it was too ridiculous and immediately discarded it before even mentioning it.

"You just remembered one, didn't you?" said Dina, who was looking at her face attentively with narrowed eyes.

_ Damn this girl is perceptive _ , thought Abby

"Uhm…" Abby tried to think of a suitable lie but her mind was failing her, perhaps because of the alcohol

"Let's hear it" insisted Ellie

Abby shook her head "it's really silly"

"And is this like a huge gathering, some old world opera or concert?" said Ellie mockingly, extending her arms and showing where they were "C'omon dude, it's just us, let's hear it"

"Ok" Abby sighed "I don't even know if I remember the whole thing"

"Chill ok, if we know it, we help you, ok?" said Dina

"I don't even remember the beginning" said Abby

"Just sing whatever fucking part you remember but sing already" said Ellie and then grunted impatiently

"Ok, ok" said Abby and sighed.  _ This is so stupid, _ thought Abby,  _ but whatever maybe tomorrow they won't remember _

Abby knew she couldn't sing to save her life but she made an attempt. She thought that she was probably as bad as Dina if not worse.

_ "So smoke 'em if you got 'em _

_ 'Cause it's going down _

_ All I ever wanted was you _

_ I'll never get to heaven _

_ 'Cause I don't know how" _

_ "Let's raise a glass or two"  _ to her surprise Ellie and Dina joined her at this point, raising each one a bottle of wine and putting a hand on each other's shoulder. Then Dina put her bottle down and put her free hand on Abby's shoulder and they started swaying from one side to the other, attempting to follow the rhythm of the song. Abby chuckled but they continued singing together

_ "To all the things I've lost on you _

_ Oh-oh _

_ Tell me are they lost on you? _

_ Oh-oh _

_ Just that you could cut me loose _

_ Oh-oh _

_ After everything I've lost on you _

_ Is that lost on you?" _

Ellie and Dina clapped. Abby felt both relieved and disappointed when Dina let go of her shoulder. 

"You are just as bad as me but that was a good song" said Dina

"Yeah, sorry Ellie, you are the only artist here" said Abby and shrugged

"Hey, I can dance better than both of you so don't assume," said Dina and playfully hit Abby in her arm, to which Abby chuckled.

"She's really good" said Ellie to Abby

"I'll have to trust you" replied Abby and shrugged

"No, you don't" said Dina as she stood up and offered a hand to Ellie "come, let's show her"

"Ok" said Ellie and complied

Dina showed Abby some dance moves she had not yet seen and Abby nodded at that appreciatively. She had to give it to her, being able to do that while drunk meant that she was really talented. Then at one point Ellie and Dina started kissing each other and doing a silly dance. 

“Ok, that is my cue, good night lovebirds” said Abby, standing up and then turning to leave.

Someone stopped her, grabbing her arm, then she felt another hand in her other arm. She looked and realized that both Ellie and Dina had one hand in each of her arms.

“Where are you going?” asked Ellie, apparently completely wasted

“Yeah, stay with us” said Dina looking amused but also quite drunk

“No thanks, I’m sleepy” said Abby “and I see you guys want privacy”

“Oh, you care what we want now?” said Dina arching an eyebrow

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Abby

“If you do, then stay” said Ellie and made a pout “please”

Abby sighed and maybe it was the alcohol or maybe she actually wanted to stay but whatever it was she accepted.

“Fine but we should not stay awake for long and we probably should not drink anymore” said Abby

“Come dance with us” suggested Dina 

As Dina spoke she caressed Abby’s arms leaving goosebumps at her wake. 

“I don’t know” said Abby feeling slightly afraid of what could happen if she stayed. 

_ What could actually happen? I am not embarrassing myself just because we are here dancing like idiots _ , thought Abby.

“Come” said Ellie and slowly pulled Abby towards them.

They both hugged her closely, pressing their bodies against Abby’s while they danced slowly. Abby felt she was dizzy and not because of the wine. She felt her heart was going to burst from her chest or something. Why was she so nervous? They were just two drunk girls wanting to dance with her, she had danced with girls before. But this felt differently somehow and she could not say exactly what made it so different. This felt intimate. Perhaps it was that.

“Ok, maybe you guys need water” said Abby nervously, searching for an excuse or something to say so they would not remain quietly dancing. Perhaps if she spoke she would not pay attention to those hands on her back or the way they held her tightly or at the heat emanating from these two bodies pressed to hers, and how it all made her pulse quickens.

“Maybe you need to chill” said Dina to Abby’s ear. Her breath in Abby’s neck felt so nice but it also made her shiver slightly. 

“I’m chill” said Abby trying to sound calm but her voice was too loud and betrayed how uneasy she felt

“You don’t sound chill” said Ellie and caressed Abby’s hair. Abby gasped and looked at her, she had never been this close to her before. 

“Do we scare you, Abby?” asked Dina

“No” said Abby in a trembling voice and shaking her head

“Liar” said Ellie

“I just want to know why” said Dina

“I am getting some weird vibes from you two right now, that is why” confessed Abby.

“Are you, is it something you would be against?” asked Dina

Abby just stared at her.  _ Would she be against this? What was this, exactly? _

“Would you?” asked Ellie

“I think we are all too drunk to tell,” said Abby, swallowing.

“I’m not drunk, just a little happier” said Ellie

“I think you are drunk” said Dina

“But still awake, that is the important part, isn’t it?” said Ellie

“Being conscious is the important part” said Dina

“True” said Ellie

“I think neither of you sound like you could be conscious” said Abby

“I have been drunk before, I know this is not my limit” said Ellie

“True, give her one more bottle and you will get her there but we don’t want to get there” said Dina

“I think I am dizzy but still conscious” confessed Abby

“I am conscious too, you need more to take me down” said Dina smiling “right now that was enough to make me smile more and maybe be a little bolder, that’s it”

“I can’t believe I am traveling with such alcohol connoisseurs then” joked Abby

“You are the connoisseur, you know about all these wines, grapes and shit” said Ellie

Abby laughed, Ellie was such an idiot, an endearing idiot. 

“You are terrible” said Abby looking at Ellie

“Oh but you like me anyway” said Ellie confidently.

Abby swallowed and looked down.

“Oh, you are so cute when you are embarrassed” said Dina and gave her a kiss in the cheek

“What are you doing?” asked Abby, now turning to look at Dina

“I’m giving you a kiss, you don’t want it?” asked Dina

“I didn’t say that” said Abby looking down in embarrassment before realizing what she had just said “I mean…”

_ What the fuck did I mean?, _ thought Abby

“Or do you want me to kiss you somewhere else?” teased Dina

Abby looked at her, she was shamelessly looking at Abby’s lips and Abby felt her heart racing. She wanted to kiss her. Dina wanted to kiss her and Abby wanted her to do that. But Ellie was here, what was this?

“Uhm… but Ellie?” asked Abby hesitantly

“You want  _ me _ to kiss you first? That can also be” suggested Ellie

“First? What exactly are we talking about here?” asked Abby

Dina caressed Abby’s hair.

“We have been wondering… we didn’t want to presume but… maybe you want to explore something… with us?” said Dina

“Explore?” asked Abby feeling more nervous and excited by the minute

“Do you want a kiss, Abby? From me and Ellie?” asked Dina, daringly

Abby swallowed and looked at Dina then at Ellie. They were serious. 

“Are you two sure?” asked Abby, still doubting

Both nodded in reply.

“We want it if you want to” said Ellie

Abby looked at them. She must have been dreaming because this seemed too strange but, before she started overthinking this, she went ahead and kissed Dina. She had never before kissed a woman but Dina tasted amazing. She was soft yet firm and when she opened her mouth and their tongues touched Abby felt such excitement like nothing she had experienced before. Heat spread through her whole body as Dina kissed her and Ellie’s hand on her back held her even more strongly. She gasped and broke the kiss, she needed to breathe but then she looked at Ellie. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see there, anger, expectation, maybe Abby needed to make sure Ellie was truly fine with this. She definitely hadn’t expected to see lust in her eyes. Soon Ellie was kissing her and the sensation, although different, was still so exhilarating Abby felt she could faint. Ellie had such a well built body, she might be smaller than Abby but her body was still toned and yet she was so tender in her kiss despite the hunger she clearly felt. They pushed her to the floor and they kissed and touched and removed their clothes in such a disorder that the following day they would probably have a hard time finding what belonged to who. She had never before moaned and orgasmed like she did when Ellie fingered her or when Dina kissed and sucked her vulva and her clit. She felt hands all over her body, her own hands on Dina and Ellie, Dina touching Ellie and Ellie touching her, it was confusing, desperate and passionate and it made every nerve of her body awake as waves of lust and satisfaction hit her once and again. At some point they ended up all tangled up but Ellie went to look for a blanket and covered them, then she placed herself in Abby’s shoulder. They all fell asleep soon after that. They were just so tired.

* * *

_ What the fuck did I just do _ ?, thought Abby. She looked at Ellie and then at Dina. She hoped they had indeed wanted this, it felt so awkward to be in this situation. She tried to move without waking them up - she needed to get out of here - but obviously failed miserably.

“Hey” said Ellie, rubbing her eyes and smiling at her. Then she kissed her, just a gentle kiss in her lips but it still surprised Abby.

“Good morning” she said to Abby sounding still very sleepy

“Uhm” complained Dina and hugged Abby more tightly “Is it morning already? Can’t I stay here five more minutes?”

“Time to wake up” said Ellie and kissed Dina

“Maybe you can convince me with another one” said Dina with her eyes still closed and pressed her lips together as if expecting another kiss

Ellie laughed and kissed her once more.

“What about you, aren’t you going to try to wake sleeping beauty up?” said Dina without opening her eyes

Abby looked at Ellie confused and Ellie pointed with her head to Dina. Only then she realized Dina was talking about her.

“Oh, ok” said Abby and gave a small kiss to Dina

Immediately she opened her eyes. 

“Took you long enough” said Dina jokingly

“Sorry, I just didn’t know this is what you two do” said Abby, still somewhat confused

Ellie was still lying next to Abby and looking at her. Dina moved and put her head on the other side.

“How are you?” asked Ellie softly “Both of you I mean”

“I’m fine” said Dina “I just wonder how are you two”

“I’m more than fine” smiled Ellie “I mean, I kinda feel jealous seeing you two but… I think I like it too.”

“I think I feel the same” smiled Dina “I think this can take some time but I liked it”

“You are awfully quiet here, Abby” asked Ellie and caressed her face gently with a finger

Abby didn’t know how to answer but she realized Ellie sounded slightly afraid and both her and Dina looked expectantly at her, they seemed so vulnerable. She pressed her lips together.

“I am… confused” said Abby truthfully “I wasn’t expecting this”

“But did you like it?” asked Dina, sounding even more afraid than Ellie.

Abby thought about it.

“Oddly enough, I did.” answered Abby and felt her face grow hot again and she covered her face with a hand, ashamed once more.

Dina kissed her cheek. Abby dared to look at her but then covered her face once more.

“I think I like you, I mean” said Abby and gestured to both of them

“Well I hoped you at least liked us, I mean, after last night...” laughed Ellie but she also sounded nervous

"Are you… were you two conscious?" asked Abby

Dina blinked and Ellie's eyes widened. They looked at each other and then at Abby.

"Yeah, we told you" replied Dina, reassuringly

"Of course" clarified Ellie, then looking troubled she asked "were you not?

"I was," said Abby but she was still dumbfounded.

This was totally unlike Abby. She had until the night before been pretty vanilla in respect to sex. She had only slept with Owen and two other dudes until then. She had never done something too risky or in any place where she could get found out in the act or anything like that. Despite what Nora told her about her experiences, she had never before been with a woman, let alone two at the same time. Nora! That reminded her. 

“We have to get to my friends” said Abby 

“Ok, abrupt change of topic” said Dina sounding disappointed

“Well, we do, I mean, this all is nice and all but” said Abby sitting and uncovering herself. The problem was that by doing that she uncovered both Dina and Ellie too. They were both completely naked. 

Immediately she covered all of them back, holding the blanket to her chest as if her life depended on it and started breathing faster. Oh dear, if only seeing that was causing her to feel like this she was so fucked.

Dina chuckled and sat, then she kissed Abby’s neck. It made her shiver like a leaf.

“Dina…” said Abby reproachfully but completely unconvinced

“What?” said Dina lazily and pretending innocence

Ellie started kissing her back and Abby gasped and shivered even more. 

“Oh god…” said Abby in a low voice that betrayed her want

They needed to start moving, she needed to find her friends. But this felt so good.

“We... should... go... now…” said Abby panting as Dina kissed her neck and Ellie caressed and kissed her back “we should…”

Ellie reached the other side of her neck and then caressed Abby’s ear with her tongue and Abby lost the capacity to speak.

“I actually agree with you” whispered Ellie, teasingly “we should go” 

“Not now, Ellie” said Abby and guided Ellie’s hand to her vulva “you started, now finish this”

Ellie looked at her and smiled maliciously.

“I am liking this side of you” whispered Ellie and she started fingering Abby. 

She really didn’t need much to come, she was already getting there. Ellie and Dina kissed while Ellie touched Abby and soon she came and laid back down. Ellie and Dina started touching each other until they both came and then they laid back next to Abby.

“That was amazing but we need to move” said Abby breathlessly.

Abby saw that Dina and Ellie had a malicious look again but then they all heard something.

“Abby? Dina? Ellie?” asked Lev

_ Shit! _ , thought Abby. They all rose and hurriedly started to dress again.

_ Fuck, fuck fuck _ , thought Abby as she desperately tried to find her stupid clothes, they were all doing this as fast as they could but they heard the kids approaching.

“Are you guys here?” asked Yara

“Wait! We are coming” said Ellie and then started laughing like an idiot.

Abby looked at her reproachfully. 

_ How can she laugh in this situation? _ , thought Abby as she rushed to dress herself. Finally they managed to get dressed, they grabbed their backpack and the three of them went to meet the kids.

“Hi!” said Abby trying to sound normal but failing

“Did you sleep well?” asked Dina to them.

“Not as well as you it seems, you are all...” said Yara and pointed at their hairs

Abby looked at Dina and Ellie and there was no doubt they were all messy. She was probably like that too. 

“We should have breakfast” said Ellie smiling

“Sure” said Lev and looked at them suspiciously

“Let’s go” said Dina “there is no food down here, sadly”

She went to the kids and they went upstairs.

“Not that we didn’t already have some kind of breakfast” whispered Ellie to Abby.

Abby looked at her surprised and Ellie winked.

These girls were going to kill her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how alcoholic our girls are, just assuming they drank and were relatively ok in regards to withstanding their drinks. Also assuming the wines they chose were of good quality  
> I know the song was released later but let's keep assuming it wasn't for the sake of this story  
> Song: Lost on you by Lp


	16. Ellie

“I have the feeling that you were wearing that jacket yesterday” said Lev to Ellie as he pointed towards Abby.

“Yeah!” said Abby, sounding terribly embarrassed. 

Ellie laughed in reply.

“It… it fits me better, because you know, I am bigger” stuttered Abby

Abby looked at Ellie as if she wanted to murder her. Ellie sent her a kiss. Abby rolled her eyes.

“Is that a normal way to greet people around here?” asked Yara

“Depending on how well you know them” said Ellie and put a hand on Abby’s shoulder “Abby and I, we haven’t known each other for long but I think we are doing ok”

Abby pushed Ellie’s hand away and went to sit somewhere else. Ellie felt slightly offended but understood that Abby needed time to process this. Dina went to Ellie and gave her a hug and Ellie felt better after that. 

Last night and that morning were amazing. A year ago, Dina and Ellie had watched a porn together where there were three women going at it. Normally, the few times they had watched porn together they would laugh and comment how gross it was but that time they were both extremely silent and at one point Dina had looked at Ellie in a way that she almost melted. She really wanted to kiss her but she didn’t dare. Instead she had kissed her many months later by the fire after singing a song to her with her guitar. They had discussed if they ever would be able to do that and initially they had both agreed they were too jealous for that. Then Abby came into the picture. Of course when she just appeared they had no sexual intentions regarding her. Ellie could not even say she liked her as a person but as days passed and they talked and talked they both started to find themselves thinking about her. There was something that drew Ellie to Abby and she could not quite get what it was. Dina later mentioned how she found her pretty and had made a couple of jokes about being jealous about Abby, but it was apparently not serious. But then slowly they both confessed they found her intriguing but that of course they could not do anything about whatever they felt since she was their prisoner. It was just not fair, it would have been creepy to propose something like that to her while she was in the cell.

When they decided to help her reach her friends they thought that maybe then they could mention it but then they didn’t know how, considering their situation. Dina suggested letting things happen if they did or not and just leave her alone if she didn't show interest. Abby had not really shown any interest in them at the moment. When Ellie had to release Abby, she was so nervous to be so close to her that she took forever in finding the key. And when they had seen she was so scared of the heights in the bridges, Dina did not need to say much to convince Ellie to help Abby. It felt nice holding her hand. It felt right how they both helped her and she seemed touched by it. Then they had to kill a couple of infected and after that the Seraphites. Curiously enough when she winked at Abby after killing that Seraphite that almost got her, Abby had blushed. That gave Ellie hope. Maybe she was not imagining things, maybe she wasn’t delusional and Abby was interested. 

When Abby suggested wine for Joel and Maria Ellie felt so grateful, she knew it could not be easy for Abby to do that, to choose wine for the man who had killed her father. That simple gesture told Ellie that Abby had truly given up on her revenge and that she cared enough about Ellie that she was doing this now. She did not expect to end up drinking and dancing with Abby and Dina and when finally they both dared to ask Abby to be with them, she did not expect her to kiss Dina. She was hit by jealousy and lust with such strength that she felt confused, she couldn’t know which was stronger. But when she heard Abby gasp and saw her looking at her she just went for it. Ellie did not regret it one bit. She knew this could be complicated but she liked it too much. It was so much fun to tag team with Dina to tease Abby. It came naturally to both of them, they had always been a great team. 

When she heard the kids coming down she rushed to get dressed but she caught a glimpse of Dina and they both smiled. Yes, the situation was terrible but it reminded them of the day at the pot farm. After that they went to eat something. Yara and Lev seemed suspicious and kept glancing at the three of them with narrowed eyes.

Abby tried to redo her braid and Dina offered to help her. Abby seemed nervous but ended up accepting. It felt somehow very natural to see them like that. Ellie could get used to this, if she had a chance at whatever this was. She suspected that even if they told her that the only way to make a vaccine implied her dying, she still would want to proceed. She might as well enjoy whatever she had left of this. But part of her started to have doubts. Was it really worth it if she could have this instead? She had promised Dina not to die over this vaccine after all, maybe she needed to reconsider her plans.

They continued after breakfast and on the way only found infected. Yara seemed to be feeling better and Ellie had to admit that both Yara and Lev had a good aim. They disposed of every infected they needed to dispose of and then entered a house. They only found a bloater and two clickers there, so they killed them and proceeded to investigate inside. 

“It seems like there were people here not so long ago” said Abby looking at the traces of fire in the floor

Ellie and the others started to check around and then Ellie found a backpack.

“Hey Abby, does this belong to one of your people?” asked Ellie

Abby went to check and paled at the sight of that thing.

“This belongs to Owen” said Abby and almost cried

For some reason Ellie felt extremely jealous but seeing how distressed Abby was she patted her back. This wasn't the time to be possessive.

“That doesn’t mean he’s dead, maybe he just ran without it” said Ellie

“Folks, I think you should check this out” said Dina from far away

“Where are you?” asked Ellie

“She went with Lev to that other room, let’s follow them” said Yara

They went there and saw a couple of bodies. At least two were from those big Seraphite guys.

Abby approached them and moved the bodies. Underneath them was one of the guys that Ellie remembered from Abby’s group.

“Jordan,” said Abby. She kneeled down and closed his eyes. She stayed there and observed him. Ellie wasn't sure what to say, she just put a hand on her shoulder.

“We can bury him” said Dina

“I guess we can” said Abby then she looked at Yara and Lev “do you want to bury these guys?”

Yara and Lev looked at the corpses and shook their heads. 

“That one is the one who killed my mom” said Lev pointing at a big guy

“Fuck him then” said Dina

“Yeah, fuck him” said Lev

Yara looked at him alarmed.

“I have never before heard a… Seraphite swear” said Abby. 

"It was my first time" admitted Lev

“You were about to say scar” said Yara

“Yeah but I stopped, didn’t I?” said Abby shrugging

“You did” said Yara smiling slightly at Abby

They buried Jordan and gave Abby some time to say goodbye. Dina gave her condolences but Abby simply nodded, she didn't seem to want to discuss much about this. It reminded her a bit of Joel, not wanting to talk about Sarah and she couldn't help but feel that she should avoid commenting on this. Abby wouldn't appreciate the comparison. After that they looked around in different houses but found no other traces of fight or people. They were investigating a house when they heard that there was a big group of infected passing through so they decided to just lock everything and remain quietly there until the horde would leave. By the time the horde had passed it was already too late so they decided to camp for the night. Lev and Yara slept in a room upstairs and Abby, Dina and Ellie went to make sure everything was properly locked once more, just to be sure.

“Ok, I guess we should rest” said Ellie

Abby grabbed some blankets she had found and Dina threw some mattresses together.

“What are you doing?” asked Abby

“What does it look like I am doing? I am making a bed for us” said Dina looking at Abby

“Like us… us?” asked Abby

“Yes silly, that includes you” said Dina

“I don’t know” said Abby

“Why not? You seemed fine this morning” teased Ellie

“But if the kids come down..” said Abby looking at the stairs

“Then we can put the mattresses in that room, if they come down we can hear them and be ready” suggested Dina pointing at another room

“Ok, that sounds more reasonable” said Abby but she still sounded doubtful

“Hey, Abby, are you still having doubts about this?” asked Ellie once they had prepared the bed

“I mean… this is unusual” admitted Abby

“We are living in a fungal apocalypse I doubt this is the weirdest thing happening right now” said Dina

“Maybe. It’s just… I have never before done any of this.. Never even been with a woman before last night” admitted Abby

“Well, can’t say the same about the woman part but… it was a first for us too in the sharing department” admitted Ellie

“I guess we are all learning then” said Abby as she sat in the mattresses.

Dina and Ellie sat down too. 

“Yes we are” said Dina “but I think I can get used to this, if you want to”

Abby bit her lips and looked down but she smiled. Oh gods, she wanted to eat her right now. She looked at Dina, she was looking at Ellie and then looked at Abby with the same hungry stare. That lustful look on Dina also made Ellie want to go to her. It seemed neither could decide who to kiss first. Being three in a relationship was exciting but it presented its confusing moments too.

“Maybe” whispered Abby and looked at them. 

Then she lounged and went towards Ellie and kissed her. Abby pinned Ellie down and Ellie had no intention to fight her. She kissed her while holding Ellie's wrists. That demonstration of strength would have been frightening in any other situation, now it only added to the thrill, making Ellie wet just from that alone. Slowly Abby's hands moved to Ellie's and they clasped hands as they continued to kiss each other hungrily. Dina removed Abby’s clothes while Abby removed Ellie’s clothes. Dina kissed Abby's back, slowly, barely touching her, making her gasp and shiver in reply. At one point Abby turned to the side and kissed Dina, Ellie used that distraction to slide down and down until she could be in position to eat her out as she wanted to. As Ellie did this, Abby held onto the bed and the sheets with hands and teeth - making her best effort not to howl when she came - while Dina moved to eat Ellie out in turn. They tried to be more discreet while they fucked but it was quite hard, she wanted both of them so much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know about you but I did watch porn with my friends, and I mean girls, so I thought that was not so weird. Even girls at my very religious school - some time ago - would watch porn together but maybe it was just us. In any case, I don’t think that is such a weird activity to do with friends


	17. Dina

"Weren't you using that shirt yesterday?" asked Lev to Abby and pointing to Dina

Abby looked nervously and mumbled some reply.

"I think you were, you can't say it fits Dina better because she's smaller than you" said Lev

"I still think it can fit me better," said Dina and winked at Abby, who cleared her throat and ate her breakfast but mostly ignored her. 

Dina was disappointed, whenever she tried to be playful with Abby in front of the kids she would just pretend she did not see her and although she understood her need for privacy she was also starting to feel annoyed that they had to keep themselves hidden. What was the point? They didn’t even know these kids that well to have to put a facade in front of them.

"How? It's too big for you" said Lev 

"I look cute in it" said Dina as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"You totally do," said Ellie as she hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. 

Dina smiled at Ellie whilst swiftly putting a hand in her butt and squeezing before releasing her. Ellie only said "oh!" and smiled more. Then Dina looked at Abby, who was sitting and observing them and saw that her jaw was tense. Abby noticed Dina's observing her and looked to the side. Jealousy, that was something she understood quite well. She was always quite jealous of the people that had interest in Ellie and when Ellie finally dated Cat she thought she could not take it. She would have never imagined herself in a situation like the one she was now but there was no way she would have been able to pretend she did not like Abby. A few days ago Ellie had already told Dina she loved her and Dina had thought that was too fast but secretly she knew she loved her too. So the next time Ellie said it Dina finally told her she also loved her. But now there was Abby too. She knew they both liked Abby and she knew Abby liked them. They would need a lot of time to sort these things through but they also needed to respect that Abby seemed to prefer to keep things among the three of them private. Dina did not enjoy this idea but she had still not said that out loud and kept in mind maybe she should tonight. For now there was only one thing Dina thought she could do. She went to Abby and pretended to observe what she was eating, she put a hand on her back and looked down.

“You like your breakfast?” asked Dina using her most innocent voice

“Yeah sure” said Abby simply

Yara and Lev were sitting in front of her so Dina knew they would not see what she was doing. So she lowered her hand until she reached Abby’s butt and squeezed it quickly. Abby almost spilled her water. 

“If you get hungry just grab more, I think we have enough for you” said Dina, meaning something completely different than food.

Abby coughed.

“Sure” said Abby and started to drink more, maybe to hide her face.

“Can I grab more too?” asked Lev

Abby spilled her water and started coughing more.

“Are you sick?” asked Lev

“She’s fine” said Ellie and brought more food to the table “she just get nervous sometimes, never mind her”

“I think you would benefit from some meditation” said Yara

“Yeah, you should try it, to calm your nervousness” said Lev

“Oh, I would be calmer but some people keep putting me in strange situations” said Abby looking accusatory at Dina and Ellie. 

Abby rose and started to put things in her backpack. Yara and Lev looked at each other.

“So there is something going on between you three” said Lev simply

“What?” yelled Abby. 

Ellie just opened her mouth but said nothing. Dina thought this was the chance to finally let it out but she waited to see how the other two reacted.

“There have been some very awkward moments” said Lev

“Lev, maybe we need to give them time” said Yara, looking at Abby’s panicked face

“You three are together, right?” asked Lev

“I think we need to leave” said Abby, resolutely avoiding to look at any of them and shoving things in her backpack in no particular order “we have to find my friends and we are wasting time now”

“Sure” said Yara, “it’s best to give people space to figure things out, you know that Lev, don’t you?”

Lev thought about it for a while.

“You might be right”, said Lev “I am not accusing you three of anything, I just think it is best to be honest with what one feels. It seems to me you are trying to hide something whenever we are around and that some of you are unhappy about it”

“I agree with you,” said Dina, putting her hands in her waist. Abby looked at her and looked alarmed. Ellie was still just silently observing, “I am not ashamed, to be honest, and I think there is no reason to hide”

Abby sighed and shook her head.

“Can I just be given some time to sort this out?” asked Abby

“Sure but… maybe…” said Ellie “don’t run away if we want to hug you”

Abby looked at them and only now seemed to realize that her intense desire for secrecy was hurting Ellie and Dina. 

“Ok, but hugs alone, no excessive PDAs” conceded Abby

“What are PDAs?” asked Lev

“It’s a culture medium where you can grow fungi” said Ellie, jokingly

Abby rolled her eyes. Dina just laughed.

“What is medium?” asked Lev

“Don’t listen to her”, said Abby “she is unable to be serious, PDA means public displays of affection” 

“But I am also right, it can mean both” said Ellie

“I was obviously referring to public displays of affection” said Abby about to lose her goddamn mind

“What is medium?” asked Lev again

“It’s something were you can grow a living thing like bacteria and fungi, PDA can mean what Abby said but PDA can also be Potato Dextrose Agar which is a medium that serves to grow fungi” explained Ellie

“Can you grow food in it?” asked Yara

“Maybe, I haven’t read about it. But I think it is best to grow food in the soil” said Ellie

“I would think so too” said Lev

Abby welcomed the change of topic and hurried them up to leave after that. Dina was happy that they had at least agreed that they could hug in public. Next thing on her list was going to be a kiss in public but she was patient, she could wait. They continued walking and checking houses, killing infected and advancing. Abby and Ellie were in front while Dina was behind with Lev and Yara. Luckily Yara was recovering well from her injuries. She was walking normally and had even saved them a couple of times, these Seraphites knew how to use bows. Eventually they reached a house they wanted to check, maybe to rest for a while. They were entering that house that seemed abandoned when someone pointed a gun at them. Dina placed herself in front of the kids while Abby almost jumped in front of Ellie.

“No” yelled Abby

“Abby?” said a male voice. Dina looked at the man up and down. She didn’t know him but she realized by Ellie’s face that she did. 

They have finally found Abby’s group.


	18. Abby

“Don’t shoot, they are with me” said Abby

Owen seemed confused but he lowered the gun. Abby looked back. Ellie also lowered her gun, and so did Dina and the kids.

"You are alive" said Owen and came near Abby

"I was afraid they got you" said Abby, relieved

Owen hugged her and Abby was initially too overwhelmed to respond. Then she gently patted his back. She was just so happy he was alive.

"I'm so relieved" whispered Owen as he hugged her strongly

"Me too" said Abby "I thought you died" 

Owen pulled back and looked at her and caressed her cheek with one hand. Abby blinked and felt herself blush. Her heart skipped a beat and then his thumb caressed her cheek tenderly. Abby looked down and Ellie coughed loudly. It seemed that noise reminded him that they were not alone and he let Abby go. He observed who the people who were with her were. It seemed like he suddenly remembered something.

“What the fuck, Abby? She’s the girl who kidnapped you… and scars too?” said Owen

"Seraphites" corrected Lev

"I'll explain later," said Abby.

Abby needed some time to recover but after some seconds she had to admit she was happy… and bewildered.

“I can’t believe I found you, I thought… your backpack” Abby said and smiled

“Yeah, I survived, shocking I know” said Owen

“Here, I brought it,” said Abby, giving him his backpack.

“Thanks… so, are you going to tell me what is going on?” asked Owen looking suspiciously at Abby’s companions

“Let’s get inside” said Abby

Owen gave them space and they entered the house. Then Ellie and Abby blocked the entrance more sturdily this time. When Abby turned she looked at Dina observing Owen with suspicious eyes and something else.

“So… you are Owen” said Dina with a disapproving tone of voice

Was Dina jealous? Abby smiled despite herself and was about to say something to Ellie when she noticed that Ellie was looking at Owen with the same jealousy in her eyes. She was surprised and elbowed Ellie.

“What’s going on?” she whispered to Ellie

“You tell me” whispered Ellie and looked at Abby in the eyes with a seriousness she had not seen in her for a while.

“What is that supposed to mean?” whispered Abby

“Ehm, yes I am Owen, what are you two discussing over there?” asked Owen to Abby and Ellie.

“Nothing” lied Abby.

“I am still waiting for an explanation” protested Owen

“Fine, this is Ellie, Dina, Lev and Yara. Ellie kidnapped me, but then she had her reasons” said Abby

“Are you listening to yourself?” asked Owen

“Let her talk, Shaggy” said Ellie, crossing her arms

“What? Who’s Shaggy?” said Owen

Dina just laughed and Abby had to make an effort not to laugh herself. Lev and Yara looked at each other and shrugged.

“Must be people we don’t know” said Yara

“Probably” said Lev

Ellie looked at something in her backpack. She took a notebook and a pen and doodled something. 

"It's a guy from a comic, not a real person, here" said Ellie and showed them.

Yara smiled and Lev looked serious. 

"I see" said Lev

“Why are you laughing?” asked Owen at Abby. 

“I’m not laughing” said Abby trying her best to not laugh but she was already in tears from the effort.

“You are smiling at least,” complained Owen.

“Shaggy is a character from an old comic, did you not read it? My dad had the whole collection” said Abby

“Wait, is that from the dog and the pseudo detectives?” asked Owen and Abby nodded.

Suddenly he seemed to remember what they were talking about.

“I don’t look like that” complained Owen

“Whatever” said Abby “as I was saying, Ellie is Joel’s daughter, she was just trying to protect her dad.”

“Oh” said Owen, realizing why this was important for Abby.

“Anyway, after a while Ellie and Dina decided to help me escape Jackson and look for you guys because the sc… seraphites were after you” Abby noticed that Lev was nodding approvingly at her correcting herself then continued “on the way here we had to fight some of them that were following these kids so they came with us now”

“Wow, that sounds… confusing but why are you two here” asked Owen looking at Ellie and Dina, then at the kids “Or you two for that matter”

“We just want to help Abby” said Dina

“Yeah, help” said Ellie and looked at Abby attentively

“And we are here because we were being followed, we broke some rules and they wanted to kill us” said Yara “so, we escaped”

“In your truck, we came with you hidden in your truck” said Lev

“Some of the other Seraphites must have seen us and followed you” said Yara “I’m sorry you lost friends because of us”

Owen was about to complain but Dina interrupted him.

“I think what they did was very brave, survival sometimes requires that you do very unexpected things, must have been scary travelling with people you are also afraid of, having to hide from them too” said Dina

“Yes, it was very scary” said Lev

“And thanks to that you are alive now” said Dina “you did nothing wrong”

Dina said that while looking at Lev and Yara but then she gave a very stern look at Owen as if daring him to contradict her. Owen had never met Dina before but even he could tell he was not supposed to do that so he shut up.

“Thank you” said Lev and smiled

“What about you? How did you end up here?” asked Abby

“When she took you hostage” he pointed at Ellie “we heard people shooting and we thought it was the people of Jackson and we had to escape, I am sorry Abby, but we had to”

“Don’t worry” said Abby

“But then we saw three trucks following us and they started to shoot at us, they shot our wheels and we crashed against some trees. We ran from them and shot them but there were too many of them. We didn’t know where Jordan was, we got separated from him and we also couldn’t find Leah or Nick”

“We found them, the Seraphites got them” said Abby

“Oh, I figured... Manny, Nora, Mel and I ended up in one house and we fought the scars as much as we could but I think they also got Manny” said Owen

“Oh no” said Abby, saddened, he had been like a brother to her “Manny…”

“He basically sacrificed himself so that we could escape in another direction, we ended up in another house near here and we could not really move that fast because Mel has been feeling ill” said Owen 

“This morning Nora went out to search for provisions but she still has not returned. I fear maybe they took her but Mel asked me to stay here with her, she is not feeling well, you know… the baby” said Owen 

“Mel is here?” asked Ellie

“Yes” said Owen suspiciously looking at her “how do you know her?”

“It’s not like we have not talked with Abby, you know” said Ellie “ you tell the person something and they say something back, communication is important”

“Ok”, said Owen confused at Ellie’s hostility. 

Abby smiled, the poor guy could not understand the context of this.

“Can we talk to her?” asked Dina, straight to the point

“She’s in the other room, resting” said Owen

“Show us the way” said Abby

Mel was shocked when she saw Abby and the people she was with. She almost reached for her gun but Owen told her everything was fine.

“What do you mean?” asked Mel

“They are friends” said Abby pointing at everyone she was with

Ellie coughed and Abby looked at her. Both Ellie and Dina looked at her as if she had said a bad word or something. Abby rolled her eyes.

_ What were you expecting for me to say? _ , thought Abby.

“This is Ellie, Dina, Lev and Yara. We are helping each other” said Abby

“You?” asked Mel confused, “are helping scars? After killing so many before? You?”

“Seraphites” corrected Yara

“And you are telling me you are helping the girl that didn’t let you kill Joel?” asked Mel

“I gave up on that idea” said Abby and crossed her arms. Mel and Owen looked at her as if she had said she had sprouted wings and learned to fly.

Ellie seemed startled but she smiled at Abby. Abby looked at her.

“As if you already didn’t know, I’m not picking up wine for someone I will kill” said Abby

“What?” asked Owen

“Long story, not relevant now” said Abby interrupting anyone who wanted to talk.  She couldn’t allow Dina or Ellie to spill the beans just like that.

“So one minute you are hitting Joel to a pulp and the next you are letting him go?” asked Mel

Lev and Yara flinched and looked surprised at Abby.

"It's more complicated than what doctor mega bitch here is saying" Ellie whispered to the kids

Mel looked at Ellie, annoyed but Ellie pretended not to notice.

"How?" asked Lev

"I'll explain later" whispered Ellie

“Joel is her old man, she had to protect him” said Abby to Mel “I don’t like him but he is not who I thought he was”

"Are you telling me we traveled all the way here, we lost our friends and all that so that you would suddenly let go of your obsession with revenge? Something you haven't been able to do for years?" asked Mel

Abby pressed her lips together and looked down. Of course Mel couldn't understand. She had already made clear she thought little of Abby.

"Mel, you also wanted to come, you also wanted revenge" reminded Owen "don't pretend you didn't because you did" 

"Yes but not for what she wanted to do, not like that" said Mel and then paled. 

Owen brought her a bucket. She shook her head.

"She should have just shot him" said Mel and laid against the wall "making us come here and not even finishing the job"

Abby felt shame increasing inside her but also anger. It wasn't fair, Mel had wanted revenge too.

"Hey, asshole, she gave it up, why can't you? And that isn't even the point anymore" said Dina snapping her fingers in front of them "we have more important things to discuss"

"I'm not interested in discussing anything with any of you" said Mel and put a hand on her forehead

Dina sighed.

"Fine, we'll go and look for your other friend, hope she's more open to talk to us" said Dina.  Dina grabbed Abby's arm and Abby looked at her.  "Come, let's go" said Dina softly "your friend isn't feeling well"

"Yeah, we're obviously wasting our time here" said Ellie angrily.

They left Mel in the room and went towards the door. Abby looked at Dina, who was looking at her with such softness it took Abby's breath away. Then she looked at Ellie, who was angry but instead of being angry at Abby she was angry at Mel. Abby felt that she could kiss them. She was just so grateful that they didn't hate her now.

"Wait, why do you need Nora?" asked Owen

"We'll find her then I'll tell you" replied Abby and left the room. 

"Wait, why aren't you telling me what are you really planning here?" asked Owen

"Just tell us where did she go, just point the way" said Abby

"Before going I need to know more about how did you met" asked Yara

"Yes, you said you'll explain" said Lev

"Is this really the time?" complained Abby

"My dad killed hers four years ago, she wanted revenge, I didn't let her, then we found a common cause and we're looking her friends for that" summarized Ellie "she abandoned her revenge"

Owen looked at Abby confused. Lev and Yara were surprised.

"And why did Abby's friends wanted revenge too?" asked Lev

Ellie sighed

"Joel killed many people" said Ellie and looked down "he has done many terrible things"

"That was before" said Dina 

"No parent is perfect" commented Yara and Lev shook his head in disapproval. 

“Mother was not like that” said Lev

“She would not have doubted in killing you” said Yara

“I just needed time to talk to her” protested Lev

“She would not have heard you. You have to let it go” said Yara

Lev crossed his arms and looked to the side. Yara sighed. In the meantime, Owen was about to protest but Abby shook her head

"Abby he did more than that" said Owen regardless

"I'm not putting another girl through the same shit I went through, ok, let alone Ellie, so stop it and just tell me where did Nora go" said Abby

Owen narrowed his eyes

"She went to the pharmacy and the former big grocery store" said Owen and took a map he had in his pockets

"Here and here" said Owen and he pointed at the places he mentioned

"I hope you know what you are doing" said Owen

"Dina! Are you ok?" asked Ellie worried

Dina had almost fallen to the side but Yara held her in time.

"I just got dizzy all of a sudden" said Dina

Ellie came to her and touched her forehead. Then Ellie caressed Dina's back. Abby wanted to go to her but also felt she didn't want to intrude in Ellie's and Dina's space.

"Are you sure you want to come, maybe you can stay and rest" suggested Ellie

"No, I'm just-" said Dina and then she seemed to want to puke. 

Owen quickly gave her a bucket and Dina puked inside. Abby looked at him, surprised.

"Got plenty of training on this" explained Owen to Abby and then he addressed Dina "I think you will have to stay"

Dina moved her hand indicating she didn't need the bucket for now so he gave her space. Ellie helped Dina sit and Dina tried to clean her face and Abby became alarmed.

"You have blood on your hand" said Abby, she stopped doubting and went to her and grabbed her hand.

"It's not mine said" Dina said and looked at Yara

"You are bleeding" yelled Lev scared

Yara looked down and saw that she was. Lev went to her and helped her sit in another chair. Abby also went to her and checked her injuries. 

"Your wounds must have opened because of the effort, we shouldn't have let you fight" commented Abby as she examined Yara

"You have no way to stop me" said Yara stubbornly

"If you don't rest you won't recover" said Abby

Yara seemed annoyed but she nodded.

Abby sighed. 

"Ok, I guess I'll just have to go after Nora on my own, it might be faster this way" said Abby

"I'm coming with you" said Ellie in a serious tone, then she softened and looked at Dina "you stay here and rest babe, are you ok with that?"

"Sure, I hope I'll get better soon. You go with her, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid" said Dina and gave a weak smile to Abby

"What are you talking about?" said Abby to Dina and kneeled in front of her until her face was at Dina's level "you are the one who needs care not me"

"I'll be happier if Ellie can have an eye on you, I think you can be too reckless" said Dina teasingly

"I'm not" complained Abby but smiled at her "who would take care of you if she comes with me?"

"I'm not doing that badly, just go and find the useful doctor," said Dina.

Then Dina gave a kiss to Ellie and gave her a bracelet. She was about to kiss Abby but saw the doubt in Abby's eyes so she kissed her cheeks instead. 

"Go She-ra" whispered Dina to Abby after she kissed her cheek

"I'm coming too" said Lev

"You should stay with your sister" said Ellie

"I'll be fine, I just need to rest" said Yara

"There's still Seraphites out there, I can help you to recognize their whistling" said Lev

"He's right" said Yara

"But you're too young, it's dangerous" complained Abby

"I can take care of myself" insisted Lev

Abby sighed

"Ok, let's just go already" said Abby rising up.

Lev said goodbye to Yara, saying some religious thing about their prophet. Abby knew she didn't know enough about their beliefs and that her apprehension towards that was mostly related to how badly the relationship between wolves and scars was but it still was difficult to hear them say those things. On the other hand, despite how annoying they were when they said it, Dina and Ellie did have a point when they were mocking the fight among scars and wolves over land. Was it really worth it? She was having her doubts now.

Ellie took away the chairs they used to block the door and opened it, then she went outside. Abby and Lev went with her. Before leaving Abby turned to Owen.

"Please take care of them" asked Abby, Owen looked confused but before he could say anything she closed the door .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Owen looking at Dina and Ellie: why are you two here?  
> Dina: We are just here because we want Abby  
> Owen: didn't you forget a verb or something after 'we want'?  
> Dina: I said what I said


	19. Dina

So this fucker was Owen? Shaggy, the original comic character at least was a good person, Dina had her doubts about this guy. Although she could see some resemblance. If there was one positive side of this situation was seeing that Abby laughed too when Ellie called him Shaggy. She must not be that into him anymore. Dina had no doubts Abby and this guy had been involved. When Abby saw his backpack and assumed he died she looked devastated. This guy meant a lot to her. Dina had always been the jealous type and somehow even in the situation she was now she couldn't help but see him as competition. She realized that he was with Mel but it was clear he still was very interested in Abby, despite how much he tried to hide it. Maybe it was part of the reason why that doctor was so angry at Abby.

In any case, that was no reason to treat Abby like that and Dina intended to find out more about these people while she was here if she could. When Abby, Ellie and Lev left, Owen closed the door and barricaded it, then he seemed to be undecided on what to do.

"So" said Owen, "how are you two feeling, need anything? Food? Water?" 

"Water might be good" said Yara

"I think the same, can't really imaging myself eating right now" admitted Dina

"I'll get you something" said Owen and left

Dina observed him and thought that maybe he wasn't that terrible.

"You dislike him" said Yara

"I'm not sure, I think it's more like I distrust him" said Dina

"Is it because of you and Abby?" asked Yara

Dina scoffed but then she sighed.

"It's possible" admitted Dina

"You suspect there was something between them," said Yara. It wasn't a question, she was just confirming it.

"I see that I'm not alone in this, you noticed too" said Dina

"I think it was quite obvious, Abby was very sad when she found his backpack and her face illuminated when she saw he was alive" said Yara

"Yeah, it did," said Dina. It was a beautiful sight except that it was directed at that guy. 

Maybe because the relationship with Abby was so new - and they still had a lot to discuss and solve - was Dina feeling so uneasy at the presence of this guy. Had she been able to hug and kiss Abby more openly and just show them that they were together, maybe she wouldn't feel like this. Maybe if the relationship with Abby was more solid this guy would not have annoyed her so.

"I'm just upset he let that doctor abuse her like that, if they are her friends why are they so shitty?" said Dina

"Have you stopped to think you don't know what she put us through?" said Mel

Dina looked at her. She was walking towards them and holding the walls. Despite her feelings about her she went to her and helped her sit. Mel was surprised but accepted the help. 

"Thanks" said Mel

"It's ok," said Dina and sat down. She started feeling dizzy again.

Yara sat next to her and massaged her neck and back.

"Thanks" said Dina 

"How late are you?" asked Mel

"What?" asked Dina in surprise

"I'm talking about your period" said Mel

"I had mine last month" said Dina

"Was it normal, was it less than it usually is?" asked Mel

Dina started thinking about this and realized she didn't quite like where this was going.

"I did think it was less but then… could it be…?" reflected Dina

"Sometimes, there's spotting, that is, light bleeding, through pregnancy, it can be confused with menstruation but it's not" said Mel and looked at her as if waiting for the information to sink in

Dina inhaled and exhaled, trying to concentrate on her breathing to avoid panicking. It was almost two months since she had started dating Ellie. The last time she had been with Jesse had been three months ago. She couldn't be pregnant could she? She shook her head as if that would make the possibility to go away.

"It's ok, maybe you aren't but you still need to rest" said Mel "it could be low pressure or something else but we'll see if you have other symptoms" 

Yara was just looking at them both with a very confused but somewhat hopeful stare. Dina sighed.

"Before Ellie I was dating this guy but it was three months ago… since then I thought I had my period but she could be right" admitted Dina to Yara

"Oh.. I thought maybe Ellie…" said Yara

"What?" asked Dina

"Nevermind" said Yara 

"Here, water for all" said Owen "sorry for the delay, I was searching for food options in case you changed your mind and I was cleaning the buckets" 

Owen gave water to everyone and put a basket near Mel and another near Dina. He then put some food in a small table near to them but not near enough that Dina could smell it so she was thankful. She suspected that had the food been closer she would have vomited. She was so fucked.

"So… you are Ellie's girlfriend then" said Mel

Dina nodded and it seemed Owen was going to ask something but Yara was faster.

"Could you clarify what you meant about what Abby put you guys through?" interrupted Yara

Mel sighed. 

"It was just a bit rougher than what we planned. Abby couldn't let go of her desire to avenge her dad and for years tracked down his killer. When the small chance to find him arose she put us on board because we also lost our friends" said Owen

"A bit rougher?" said Mel indignantly "when she got Joel she tried to smash his face with that golf club, it was disgusting" 

"She has been looking for him for four years" said Owen

"Everyone was disgusted there, even you, don't pretend you weren't" said Mel "it was supposed to be about justice, kill him and go, but no, she had to be a sadistic monster" 

"Hey, at least she gave up on that. And didn't she stop when Ellie used herself as shield to protect Joel?" said Dina "Ellie told me that Abby even fought against you guys because you wanted to kill her but Abby didn't"

"Abby only wanted Joel, we came here for Joel, no one else" said Owen

"Maybe she did but have you stopped to think that had Ellie not gotten there in time, she would have only found pieces of Joel everywhere instead?" said Mel

Dina closed her eyes and felt rage increase inside her. What Mel said brought back terrible memories of her sister, her killers, a burnt house, a wailing child and that same child hanging from a tree. Dina concentrated again in her breathing and Yara offered her more water and Dina took it. 

"Maybe we should stop this discussion" said Yara firmly "you are hurting Dina"

"Let me just say one more thing regarding this" said Dina once she managed to calm down. She opened her eyes and looked at Mel "she might have had all the intention to do that but she gave it up"

Mel was about to interrupt her but Dina held up her index finger to her and gave her such a stern state that Mel shut up.

"You weren't there these days while we talked to her, she talked with me, with Ellie, we discussed many things. She even talked to Joel" said Dina

Mel and Owen sat straighter when hearing this. They looked completely perplexed.

"So Joel survived" said Yara

"Abby wouldn't be alive otherwise," said Dina to Yara. Now that she said this, Dina realized how fragile relationships were. Had Ellie arrived a second later maybe Abby would indeed be dead. The thought troubled her, Abby wasn’t a passing fancy, she was already more than that. 

"I see" said Yara but seemed intrigued

"Ellie told me Joel had done many terrible things before they arrived in Jackson. But to tell you the truth many of us there have terrible pasts, things we wished we didn't do but we can't take back. Jackson is a place to start over, it gave many of us a second chance" said Dina, meaning that both for Yara and the other two.

Mel looked to the side and then sighed.

"Abby has been obsessively preparing for the day that she would find her dad's killer, that is the one goal she has had in her mind for years. Her body is proof of that. She became WLFs top killer… it's hard for me to understand that after a couple of days with you girls she gave up her four year obsession" admitted Mel

"When you say top killer, you mean she killed Seraphites, right?" asked Yara

"Yes, your people. That's the other thing I don't get, why did she help you?" asked Mel

"Well… I don’t know if they are my people any longer… they are trying to kill us and they are so set in doing that… that they followed us all the way here" admitted Yara

"Why?" asked Owen

"We… broke important rules" said Yara

"What rules are those?" asked Mel

"We are assigned our roles in the society and Lev was given his and he didn't accept it. So they killed our mother when we escaped" said Yara looking sullen

"That sounds terrible" said Mel and she seemed genuinely concerned "I know that our groups fight but I always thought that we shouldn't have broken the truce. It was just innocent children crossing borders, it wasn't enough reason to end the truce. I do think that Isaac is over doing things" 

Yara blinked and seemed surprised

"I never knew wolves would speak like that about their leader" said Yara

"Most wouldn't but Mel is braver than most" said Owen and looked at her with admiration in his eyes.

"He's the leader but he isn't infallible, he has done many terrible things too" added Mel

"Seraphites have been terrible too, leaving bleeding wolves corpses hanging everywhere" admitted Yara

"I know, we lost a couple of friends like that, why do scars- I mean Seraphites, do that?" asked Owen

"It's an idea of one of the elders, they believe it releases the sins" said Yara

"The only thing they release it's the entrails" said Owen

Dina gagged. Seattle sounded like a terrifying place.

"Oh sorry, too graphic, I forgot someone who isn't from Seattle is here" said Owen and he seemed to be sincerely sorry

"Maybe we should all go back to Jackson" joked Dina "your place sounds terrible"

Owen almost stood up

"Do you think they would accept us there? Even after what we did?" said Owen looking hopeful

Dina smiled but then realized he was serious. She glanced at Mel and she seemed as expectant as he did about what Dina would answer.

"Uhm, I think it could be possible, we have to talk to Maria, she's the leader. Maybe bring some gifts." suggested Dina, she wasn't sure but she felt had about discouraging these people

"Like what?" asked Owen

"Well, on the way here we found a wine cellar, we can go there and grab more wine" said Dina

"I remember the place, that was where you guys started exchanging clothes" said Yara excitedly

Dina gave her a look that she hoped conveyed the need to not go deeper into this topic.

"I thought you said..?" said Yara confused

"In time, not now" interrupted Dina

"What are you talking about?" asked Owen

"Nothing of importance to you" said Dina, narrowing her eyes "so you two are together, right? Just you two" 

Mel nodded but Owen just looked at her confused

"Yes, just us two, what do you mean?" said Mel

"Fine, so Abby's business is hers alone" said Dina as if that explained anything. She knew she was being cryptic but wanted to give Abby a chance to explain things in her own time.

Dina knew that Ellie hoped to find a way to make the cure and believed the Wolves to have more equipment to do that but at the same time. What these guys were saying seemed to indicate that Seattle was a war zone. Maybe it was best that they never went there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes Yara hoped that Ellie was trans too and that explained Dina's pregnancy, and that then she would be understanding of Lev.  
>  If you think I wasn’t putting a bit of my own self when Dina was reacting to Owen then you are mistaken. Maybe Dina would be chill, what do I know?  
> I also want to mention I don’t hate the character of Mel. I think she does say truthful things to Abby that others are too ashamed or whatever to tell her. She seems to be not so much a wolf fanatic like Abby in the game was, she seemed to notice that Isaac was a bit of an extremist. She is also not perfect and is nasty to Abby despite knowing that Owen failed her more than Abby but I guess this is what makes her more human.


	20. Ellie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: deadname and misgendering

There was no one in the pharmacy. However Abby wanted to check very carefully if they could find any traces that there had been someone there or maybe some fight even. After they were completely sure there was no one Lev decided to look for supplies for Yara. Abby searched for other medicines instead and so did Ellie. 

"So, what is going on with you and your friend Owen?" asked Lev

"What? Nothing" said Abby but her voice was too high. 

Ellie looked at her and she saw that Abby was avoiding to even face her body and that only annoyed her even more.

"He was your boyfriend, wasn't he?" said Ellie

"And what if he was?" said Abby, "besides that's ancient history, he's dating Mel and they are having a child so…"

"That doesn't mean anything" said Ellie "he's clearly still hung up on you" 

"He is not" said Abby 

"He almost kissed you" said Ellie

"He did not" complained Abby

"He hugged you for hours" said Ellie

"I don't think he did but it was a long hug" said Lev

"It's just a way of speaking, it means that they hugged for very long" explained Ellie

"Oh, then why didn't you just say that?" complained Lev

"Sometimes one exaggerates to indicate something, like in this case that he was attached to her like an octopus for long" explained Ellie

"We were just surprised to see each other, you're reading too much into this" complained Abby

"I think he did almost kiss you" said Lev

"See, Lev agrees with me" said Ellie

"It was not like that and can you drop it?It's like you're jealous or something" said Abby and smiled mockingly

"That's because I am jealous" said Ellie exasperated "so was Dina"

Abby turned around and looked at her surprised by that confession.

"What?" asked Abby smiling nervously

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Ellie and crossed her arms "and why would I pretend I'm not?" 

Abby sighed. 

"Look, Owen and I have history, he was there with me when my dad died and he has been a friend for long, I can't pretend that he doesn't matter to me and I'm sorry it makes you feel uneasy that it is so but I can't change my past" said Abby

"I'm not asking you to change your past, just wanting to know if you want him in your future" asked Ellie

Abby pressed her lips and turned to the other side.

"We have to go look for Nora, we can talk about this later" said Abby sternly

Ellie wanted to protest but she knew that Abby was right. They were wasting their time with this discussion and she knew well that Abby preferred to discuss things when no one else was around. So Ellie swallowed her words for now and waited for another opportunity.

"There's stuff I wanted to ask" said Lev "have you really killed that many Seraphites?"

Abby grunted, seemingly tired of discussing her life.

"Why do you ask?" asked Abby

"Have you or haven't you?" asked Lev

"I have but many of my friends were killed too" said Abby

"Hmmm" said Lev and he seemed pensive 

"I was trying to survive" said Abby

"We're trying to survive too" said Lev "we also deserve a place to live" 

"You probably should stop saying we, considering the Seraphites want to kill you" commented Abby

"Hey, we're all trying to help each other here, we're not enemies" said Ellie. These people were fighting too much and she didn't like it.

“I still don't understand about her father and yours. How are you two together?” asked Lev

Ellie looked at Abby and she was still giving her back to Ellie. Then Abby gave a step towards the exit.

"We can talk about this later" said Abby

"It's like we said, my dad killed hers and she wanted revenge. You can understand that, can't you?" replied Ellie to Lev while going after Abby. Abby might not want to talk about this but Ellie did.

"But you said it was more complicated" said Lev

"Yes, because I know my dad has not always been a good person but he is still my dad and I had to save him" said Ellie "and the thing is... I'm responsible for what he did"

"No, you are not" said Abby, turning around and going to her "I told you this already”

“He did it all for me, to save me” said Ellie looking down

“Save you?” asked Lev

“My dad was going to kill Ellie” replied Abby “it was for medical reasons”

“Oh, then it makes sense that Ellie’s dad stopped him” said Lev

Abby flinched but she sighed and then nodded.

“I guess one can say that” said Abby then she took Ellie’s shoulders “but whatever we might think about it, you are not guilty so stop saying bullshit”

Ellie was perplexed, Abby had not shown such emotion towards Ellie in front of other people and it felt nice to hear her say these things and to have her hands on her shoulder. 

“I can’t help it. I should have died in that hospital” said Ellie 

“Ellie it doesn’t make sense to think in these terms, you are alive now and to be fair I am sort of happy you are” said Abby

“Sort of” teased Ellie and smiled at Abby “only sort of?”

Abby smiled and looked down but when she caressed Ellie’s shoulders Ellie was the one who felt slightly embarrassed. Then they heard an eerie whistle.

“Get down” whispered Lev

They hid and then heard more whistles. 

“The first one was to indicate how close one are from the other, that one is to indicate the area is clean, the last one was to indicate they found provisions” explained Lev, whispering

They heard another whistle. Lev furrowed his brow then explained

“No wolves” said Lev “they are probably hunting down your people”

There were three seraphites. Two big ones and a smaller woman. They searched the place, took provisions and then left.

“We should follow them, maybe we can find Nora” said Abby 

Ellie and Lev nodded. They went quietly behind them and ended up in the old big grocery store they had marked in the map. They were inside the mall, and saw that many plants had taken over the place. Some areas were impenetrable with all the rumble and the pieces of furniture everywhere. So they saw that they had to climb some areas and Abby seemed to pale when she saw this. 

“You got this” whispered Ellie to Abby

Abby bravely climbed and said nothing but Lev kept looking back since he was in front. He was very fast. They reached different areas and tried to follow the Seraphites but Abby could not really go that fast. The structures they had to go through were so flimsy that Ellie could understand why Abby would be afraid. It was just some pieces of wood coming from the cement. However Lev was just jumping around and to be honest Ellie felt this could be quite fun had they not been in this horrible situation.

“Show off” complained Abby

“It’s not really hard” said Lev while Abby was trying her best not to look down

“I have a cousin who is afraid of heights” said Lev

“Good for him” said Abby

“Just don’t look down, babe” said Ellie

Abby looked at Ellie alarmed. 

_What?_ mouthed Ellie. There was no reason to hide, Lev already knew.

“Easy for you to say” complained Abby “how are you two not afraid?”

“I was never afraid of heights” said Lev

“Yeah, me neither” said Ellie

“What scares you then?” asked Abby

“Loneliness” said Ellie

“Dogs and the ocean” said Lev then he looked at Ellie “Is that why you have two girlfriends?”

“I haven’t thought about it, maybe” said Ellie

“Ugh” complained Abby. Ellie looked at her and saw she was rolling her eyes.

Finally they went down and saw that the Seraphites were going through some doors. Abby needed some seconds to recover and then they followed them. When they got in they saw that there was something hanging from the ceiling. They looked up and Abby gasped and covered her mouth. 

“No!” she whispered

It was one of the guys that had been with Abby. He was hanging from the ceiling and he had been cut and his insides were hanging. It was terrifying. 

“Manny” Abby whispered and cried silently.

“I’m sorry” said Ellie and put a hand on Abby’s shoulder

Abby closed her eyes, and seemed to immediately turn from sadness to anger.

“We have to follow them” she said and stopped crying

Ellie didn’t know what to do, how to console her but she also knew this was not the time for that. She would have been devastated had that been one of her friends, like Jesse, for example. 

They followed those people and found that they were talking with a woman.

“This is your last chance, tell us where you hid the apostate” said a scarred woman to someone who was on the floor with her hands tied behind her.

Lev flinched but said nothing. 

“Nora” whispered Abby and sounded hopeful “she is alive we have to rescue her”

Ellie looked around. She saw a bottle and said to them.

“I have a smoke bomb and I’ll use this too, we can do this” whispered Ellie

Nora and Lev nodded and then Ellie threw the bottle as far as possible as she could.

“What was that noise?” said the woman “go and investigate. We will deal with this one later, you will tell us where the apostate and her sister are” 

“I have no idea who that is, I told you already” complained the woman who must be Nora

Lev shot at one of the men who came to investigate and Abby silently killed another, Ellie threw the smoke bomb in direction of the one who held Nora and Abby ran to take Nora. Ellie fought another one and then shot him in the face. She heard how Abby was fighting others, the smoke dissipated and there were not many left anymore. Abby was fighting two big guys and Nora was unconscious on the floor. Ellie tried to go to her but she had no time to approach since a big woman came to her and almost cut her neck with an ax. 

“Lily, you are going to regret this” screamed someone and Ellie barely noticed they were screaming at Lev

“She’s with a wolf” cried another before falling after Lev shot him with an arrow.

Ellie found out that the big woman was hard to kill but she eventually managed to shoot her in the head and kill her. Then she saw that Abby had managed to take one of the Seraphites down and was now fighting against another but he had her pinned down and was trying to hit her with a hammer. Ellie realized she was out of bullets and arrows so she took some arrows from one dead Seraphites but by the time she stood up to shoot at Abby’s opponent, Abby was on top of him and had him on a lock, then she broke the man’s neck and he stopped moving. She was just so powerful Ellie observed her in awe. Then she shot at someone that was coming to the side. She used her knife after that, killing at least two more people. Then she looked around and realized they were all dead. Lev came to see and seemed to relax at seeing Abby was fine.

“Are you two ok?” asked Ellie as she approached Abby and Lev

Lev grabbed something from the floor, it was a health kit, and he started using it.

“Do you need help?” asked Abby when she noticed Lev was bandaging himself

“No,” said Lev and gave a step back.

_He probably didn’t want us to know_ , thought Ellie

“Did you hear what they called me?” asked Lev and he was very tense

“Uhm.. yes” said Abby, who seemed uncomfortable.

“Do you want to ask me about it?” asked Lev, finishing his bandages.

“Do you want me to ask you about it?” asked Abby

“No” said Lev

“Hey, you should have heard what that asshole called Dina and me at a party where we kissed, mighty uncomfortable too” said Ellie

Lev and Abby looked at her as if she was demented.

“Ellie, this isn’t the time for jokes” said Abby reproachfully

“What I mean to say is, just because some people call you something out of place it doesn’t make it true” said Ellie “that guy was an asshole and so where these people so fuck them” 

Lev seemed less tense then he said.

“True, fuck them” said Lev

Abby smiled slightly and then went to see Nora.

“She’s hurt, they must have been torturing her” said Abby “we have to take her back”

She grabbed Nora and carried her. Ellie felt a pang of jealousy but she tried to stomp it. It wasn’t like Nora hurt herself on purpose or anything like that but she wished Abby would also carry her like that at some point.

Lev and Ellie grabbed some supplies, in particular health supplies and left the place.


	21. Abby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to all the readers and those who leave comments. I am so thankful for each one of you. I also want to mention that the reason why I am posting these so fast now is that I think I finished editing all the chapters but I always like to control once more before uploading, I am doing this alone, English is not my mother tongue and there's work and all that. Anyway, the story is complete so only need to check for mistakes and post it. I also want to put it out there because there is at least 2 other crackfics that I wanted to post eventually, then there is the more 'serious' one that I am currently posting very slowly, so it's a lot. Anyway, hope you enjoy this in all its mess. Thanks again

On their way out Ellie had pestered her so much that they ended up burying Manny. Abby didn't believe it could make a difference but as they put him to rest she felt it was in a way better than leaving him there hanging. They left immediately after that. 

Nora was unconscious and so they set her up in a room and let her sleep. Mel said her wounds would recover but that she needed to rest. They had gone to search for provisions in the mall and found no more Seraphites. They took Manny down and buried him after that. They wondered if there were no more of them or if they were hiding but wherever they looked they saw no more sign of them.

Lev had not wanted to talk more about what had happened but Yara seemed to know what had happened. Dina was tired too and Ellie was massaging her back when Abby went to the room they had prepared for them to sleep in.

“Oh, sorry” said Abby and turned to leave

“No, come here” said Dina and patted the mattress.

“I don’t know” said Abby

“Shut up and sit already, Dina wants to talk” said Ellie

Abby nodded and obeyed. Dina sighed and then spoke.

"First of all, I want to say: my condolences" said Dina

"Oh… thank you" Abby looked elsewhere

"Yeah I'm sorry for your friend" said Ellie "that was… terrible"

Abby wasn't really sure what to say but she was thankful regardless.

"He was a good man," said Abby after a while, "very funny and quite charming. You would have liked him"

"I'm sure we would have," said Dina and caressed her arm. 

Abby shook her head. She couldn't help feeling guilty for his death. If she hadn't insisted on coming here, Manny, Leah, Jordan and Nick would be alive. But then she wouldn't have met Ellie and Dina. This wasn't so simple to catalogue but even then she felt this was her fault.

"It wasn't your knife" said Ellie, as if she had been reading her mind "it was them, not you"

Abby was about to protest but she stopped herself because Ellie was using her same argument. She couldn't really contradict her more without sounding like a hypocrite. Instead she nodded and tried to accept this. At that moment she felt a closeness to Ellie's behavior, leaving guilt behind wasn't really that easy when it came to her as second nature. For years she had felt guilty for not protecting her father and now she felt guilty for failing to protect her friends. Ellie probably felt similarly, that she had failed in saving people, all the people. It was too much of a burden, she shouldn’t carry that around.

"I'm sorry this might come as too much but there's something I have to say" said Dina

"Go ahead" said Abby, wishing to move on from this topic

“I think I’m pregnant” said Dina

“What?” said both Abby and Ellie at the same time.

“Don’t worry, not yours” smiled Dina

“When did you noticed?” asked Ellie

“I was talking to Mel when you guys left, I was sure I had my period these past two months but she says sometimes that spotting can be confused with menstruation, so I might be pregnant.” said Dina

“I guess that would explain the dizziness and the puking” said Abby

“I guess it would” said Ellie “we have to take you back”

“What about what you wanted to do?” asked Dina

“We take you back first and then we find out” said Abby “Nora is still unconscious”

The black haired beauty looked down, mulling over this for some seconds and then shook her head.

“We will see, ok?” said Dina and gave a kiss to Ellie. 

Abby looked down but then she felt Dina’s hand in her face and when she turned to look at her Dina kissed her. Abby closed her eyes and enjoyed that for a while but then they heard someone coming and they turned to watch.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” said Yara

“Sure” said Dina

Yara gave a step towards them then she sat in front of them and pressed her lips together.

“So… Lev told me you heard it” said Yara

Dina looked confused.

“When we found Nora, the Seraphites who had Nora called Lev... something else” said Ellie. Then at Dina’s puzzled stare Ellie added “something girly”

“Oh” said Dina

“Lev, he…” said Yara “when he told me this I was so angry and told him to hide it but then they told him what his role in society was, he was supposed to marry one of the elders so he went and shaved his head. I yelled at him but we had to escape, my mother would have murdered him. Still, she meant a lot to him and he didn’t want to escape Seattle but then we saw they killed her so we had to run” 

“That’s terrible” said Abby

“I’m so glad you made it somehow” said Ellie

“You should definitely come back with us, no one will bother you in Jackson” said Dina

“Thank you” said Yara and then yawned.

“You should go to rest” said Abby

“Lev was looking for something to cover us for the night” said Yara

“Let me help you” said Abby and started to stand up but then she felt someone’s hand on her wrist. 

“But come back, ok?” asked Ellie

Abby looked at her and at Dina and then nodded. What the hell, she wanted them and they wanted her, and her friends already thought the worst of her, what was the point in hiding?

Abby helped Yara and Lev set for the night and then she was about to go back to Ellie and Dina when she noticed the house had a basement. So she went to check it. Owen had said that he had cleaned the place but it did not hurt to check. She found that the place was empty and that there was an old generator there. So she tried connecting it and initially it did not work. Then she found a can with gasoline and used it in the generator. Then it worked. She was so happy with herself, now they had electricity. She realized that there was a radio there, they could use it to communicate with others perhaps. She tried to set it up but it seemed broken. Then she heard someone going downstairs.

“Oh, so you managed, I tried to make the generator work but failed” said Owen

“Yeah, now I just need to make this work” said Abby while looking at the radio

“What for?” asked Owen

“So we can talk to people in Jackson, Dina is pregnant, we need to take her back” said Abby

“So we are all going back there? You are really giving up on killing Joel?” said Owen incredulous

“Of course I gave up, I told you” said Abby annoyed and looked at the radio again

“All these years… and it took you a couple of days to give up… I just… I can’t believe it” said Owen

“Look, Owen I am sorry, I should not have brought you all here, this is my fault and I know it” admitted Abby and looked at him “Manny, Leah, Jordan, Nick… they would all be alive if I could have just let go”

Owen looked even more perplexed

“What did they do to you?” asked Owen Abby blinked and shook her head but he talked again. “I am grateful they managed to talk you out of all that. I am sorry I wasn’t able to do it but whatever happened I am happy you are letting this all go for good” 

“What can I say” said Abby jokingly “they had some pretty sound arguments”

“And I hadn’t?” said Owen but he was not really complaining he was joking too

“No, being lazy is not an argument, Owen” joked Abby

Owen laughed, looked down, then he set his eyes on her with a determination that made Abby stop laughing. He gave a step towards her

“I missed this” said Owen “seeing you smile, seeing you so calm” 

“I smile” said Abby nervously

“But not like this,” said Owen and gave another step towards her.

Abby swallowed. Something in the air had changed, he was looking at her with intent and she felt her heart beating faster.

“Don’t be a dick, of course I smile and laugh” said Abby “how is this any different?”

“I told you, you are calmer, I really believe you when you said you are letting Joel go, it makes me feel you can move on” said Owen “it makes me hopeful”

“Why?” asked Abby

“Because I always cared for you, I never stopped caring for you” said Owen

Abby felt her chest was going to explode. She did not know she wanted to hear this for so long but now it was here and he had said it. But he had Mel now.

“What about Mel?” asked Abby

He did not answer, he came to her and touched her face instead. He came close enough that Abby knew he was about to kiss her and she wanted him to do it but she looked to the side. She needed to brush this off, she had missed the way he was looking at her now but she respected Mel and she was also getting feelings over Ellie and Dina. She didn’t need to fuck things up even more.

“It’s too late” said Abby

“No, it’s not” whispered Owen and moved her face to make Abby look him in the eyes. “We can fix this”

Owen caressed her face and she was transfixed by his tenderness and the intensity of the desire she saw in his eyes. Then he kissed her. Abby initially didn’t respond but then she opened her mouth in surprise and he deepened the kiss and pressed his body against her pushing Abby against the table. She noticed he was getting hard and part of her wanted to give in, the part that missed him but another part told her it was all wrong. But then her nostalgia became more important, she truly missed him so much, she wanted to give in, let him fuck her against the wall. She even let him take off her jacket. Then her hand accidentally touched the radio and she gasped. Owen started kissing her neck and started unbuttoning her shirt but the radio reminded her of Jackson, of the girls that were waiting for her in another room and of Mel. So she pushed him back.

“We can’t” said Abby panting and with one hand on his shoulder and another in his chest. She moved to the side but Owen didn’t let go of her and she ended up with her back against the wall.

“Why?” asked Owen, breathing heavily and with one hand still holding Abby by the waist and the other in the buttons of her shirt. 

“You are going to be a father” said Abby

“I can be without being with the mother” said Owen

Abby was shocked

“No, you have to talk to Mel about how you feel, this isn’t right” said Abby

“This is the only thing that is right at this moment, Abby, I love you” said Owen

Abby felt her resolve disappearing but she tried to stay strong and shook her head

“I can’t do this,” said Abby and looked down.

She couldn’t even look at him anymore. She wanted him so much but she had to be strong and she knew that if she kept looking at him in the eyes while he looked at her like that she was going to give in. Then he caressed her face with one hand and Abby closed her eyes, gasped again and shivered. 

“Abby” he whispered and it was so tender and so desperate she felt moved.

“If you don’t want me” whispered Owen in a barely audible voice. He tilted his face, looking at her eyes “look at me and tell me that”

She made the mistake of looking at him and it became crystal clear that she wanted him. And he knew. He came closer and tried to kiss her again and she tried to push him back again but this time with such little resolve it seemed she was holding him strongly instead. She slowly shook her head but Owen was too close and god, she wanted him so much. His breath on her face was so intoxicating that she was going to give in and this time she was going to let him take off her clothes and ravage her. She even leaned into him, trying to close the distance between them to kiss him, to finally surrender to her lust but then he was taken from her side.

Suddenly he was pushed back and thrown to the side. Abby opened her eyes and saw how Ellie threw him to the floor.

“Get away from her” screamed Ellie

Ellie was now on top of Owen and had a knife on his neck.

“Ellie, no!” yelled Abby

“Don’t worry, he’s not going to hurt you” said Ellie

“I wasn’t going to hurt her” complained Owen

“You had her against the wall, she was saying no but you were still trying to kiss her and who knows what more” said Ellie

“Ellie it wasn’t like that” said Abby feeling mortified

“I know what I saw. Stop trying to defend this asshole” said Ellie “he’s just manipulating you”

“No, I wasn't doing that. I wasn’t going to… take her against her will or something” said Owen and he sounded horrified

“He’s telling the truth, Ellie, let him go” said Abby

Ellie looked at Owen then at Abby. Then she stood up and came closer to Abby.

“Abby, are you sure?” whispered Ellie

“Of course, I mean, I can definitely take him down, he couldn’t overpower me if he tried” said Abby

“But he was still trying to kiss you” said Mel

They all turned around to see Mel coming down the stairs.

“Mel” said Owen, dismayed 

“Oh god” said Abby and looked down, ashamed

“No, I am glad I followed the noise, so I could hear this myself” said Mel “how long have you two been doing this?”

“We haven’t been doing anything” said Abby “it was just...now”

“I should have guessed, all that forgiving Joel and saving some kids' act was not true. You wanted him” said Mel pointing at Owen

“I was not lying and I was not pretending either” said Abby desperately

“Hey, I don’t care that you are pregnant, you have no right to be this bitchy. Have you not heard? He had her against the wall, not the other way around. If anything, then it means they wanted each other and you have to deal with it” said Ellie and went to the stairs

Mel seemed scared by her ferocity but Ellie just went past her and left.

“Ellie” said Abby, grabbed her jacket and went after her

"Abby, don't go" said Owen

“Where are you going?” asked Mel

“Look, your discussion is with him” said Abby pointing at Owen “I know you feel nothing but disgust by me now so I am not wasting my time with you. Want to talk with someone about this? Talk to Owen”

She left after Ellie and ignored Mel and Owen’s protests. Owen called to her and Mel screamed at Owen. Abby had no time for their bullshit. She had other priorities now. She closed her shirt, put her jacket on and searched for Ellie. After a while she found Ellie outside sitting on the floor.

“There you are” said Abby and Ellie said nothing

Ellie briefly looked at Abby then back to the side. She had been crying. 

_ Fuck _ , thought Abby.

Abby sat next to her. Ellie didn’t react. Abby sighed.

“I am sorry” said Abby

“About?” asked Ellie, still looking to the side

“Kissing Owen” said Abby and felt ridiculous. The whole thing was still hard for Abby. She liked Ellie and liked Dina but she didn’t know what they all were to each other. “I didn’t plan it, it just… happened”

_ That is the worst excuse ever _ , thought Abby, frustrated with herself. 

“What I mean to say is…” said Abby and looked down “I’m confused still, and Owen is familiar and we were together for long and he has been there for me, and he was just so surprised that I finally let Joel go... he may be thought we had a chance again, I don’t know”

“Are you sure this was something you wanted?” asked Ellie and looked at her “I saw he had you against the wall, I didn’t imagine things”

“He wasn’t forcing me” confessed Abby

“You were saying no, he was ignoring you” said Ellie narrowing her eyes

“Maybe but… it wasn’t like that. I am stronger, you can see” said Abby

“Physically yes, but he could still be manipulating you” said Ellie

“He wouldn’t do that” said Abby

“Abby… sometimes people do that even... people one cares about” said Ellie

Abby looked at her but she shook her head. Owen was not like that. She knew this.

“Owen is not an abusive person” said Abby

“He has never forced you to do things you didn’t want to do before?” asked Ellie

Abby blinked and remembered the time he made her climb that ferris wheel.

“Not like that, I mean… he challenged me to do some things… you know, to… overcome my fear of the heights… he was trying to help” said Abby

“Ok” said Ellie but she sounded like it was not ok at all.

“I swear it was not like that” insisted Abby

“It’s ok” said Ellie and looked down “if you say so…”

“I know so” said Abby

“I just thought… I just didn’t want him to hurt you” said Ellie and then she tensed “many years ago… a guy, much older than me, also wanted to force me so… I guess seeing you like that I thought…”

“Oh no, I am so sorry, Ellie” said Abby

Now she understood why Ellie was ready to murder Owen. She misinterpreted the situation and somehow it reminded her of that personal experience. 

“I hope that guy is dead” said Abby, angered 

“He is, believe me, I made sure” said Ellie, sounding as if she was far away. Her voice wasn’t of someone satisfied with her actions, it sounded as if she was disgusted by them.

“Ok” said Abby “I’m so sorry…”

She had no idea of what she could say to her and Ellie sighed.

“So… do you want  _ this _ guy?” asked Ellie

“I think part of me does but he is with Mel now, it’s just… it was just a bad decision. I want to be able to move on, even from him” confessed Abby and felt very ashamed but also relieved to finally say it

“And what about us?” asked Ellie, playing with her fingers nervously, “do you want to move on from us too?”

Abby looked at her. Ellie was hurt but she was also very serious. Abby really needed to not fuck this up but she didn't know how.

“No” admitted Abby

“Are you sure?” asked Ellie

“Yes” said Abby firmly

Then Ellie came closer to Abby and held her hand.

“If you don’t want this, I want to know” said Ellie

“But I do...I want you two” said Abby

“Can we please stop pretending then?” said Ellie “can I kiss you in public?”

Abby sighed. She knew this was probably going to happen eventually.

“I want to but can you give me time to talk to them?” asked Abby

Ellie narrowed her eyes and almost took her hand from Abby but she stopped her.

“I will talk to them soon, I promise” said Abby

“Ok,” said Ellie

Abby looked down and then looked again at Ellie. She came near her and then gingerly caressed her face. Ellie didn’t run away or hit her hand so she came even closer until their foreheads touched. They remained like that for a while. 

“We should go sleep now,” said Ellie and Abby nodded.

“Lead the way” said Abby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Owen is not like that but Ellie is projecting from her bad experiences. She already didn't like him so she has the tendency to imagine he's not good news.


	22. Dina

"I'm not so sure if I'm more disappointed in you Abby, for even considering being with that dude or you Ellie, for letting him live, I'm truly torn" Dina was massaging her forehead as she said this.

"You are joking right?" asked Abby laughing nervously

Dina gave her such a fulminant stare that Abby recoiled until her back was against the wall. The three of them were sitting on the mattress that served as bed but Dina was tempted to force Abby to sleep on the floor as punishment.

"I mean that wouldn't be reason enough to-" Abby dared to say

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE OF COURSE WE ARE NOT KILLING HIM OVER THAT!" Dina interrupted her, yelling furiously. Abby literally trembled at that. Again, Dina massaged her forehead and tried to calm herself before talking again. Ellie sighed, relieved at knowing she hadn't really disappointed Dina and that almost made her wrath increase but at the same time she recognized it was funny. When she became a bit calmer she continued talking "of course we don't kill people out of jealousy, however tempted we might be, but I need you to answer me this, Abby, are you in love with him?"

Dina looked her straight in the eyes. Abby pressed her lips together and looked slightly frightened but more than anything she was apologetic.

"As I mentioned… he was my first boyfriend, he was there when my dad died, he supported me and I think he will always be important, he's family… he's what I know, what I'm used to, I guess it's just the confusion… it was a thing of the moment-"

"Abigail Anderson" interrupted Dina with a very serious tone that made Abby seat straighter "you are stalling and it isn't appreciated. Answer honestly, do you love him? Do you want to be with him?" 

Abby sighed and pinched her brow.

"I don't want to be with him. He's with Mel, as I said I want to move on" replied Abby

"Do you love him?" asked Dina

"As I said, he's family, so in that sense he will always be important" replied Abby

"Seriously, Abby, if you continue avoiding to answer the question I swear I'm going to either strangle you with your braid or cut it, put it in a sandwich and make you eat it" Dina patience was about to evaporate and even the pity that Abby’s apprehensive stare gave her were not enough to dissipate her indignation. 

"Babe, she has been apologizing for like an hour" commented Ellie sheepishly, "don't you think that's enough?"

"Is your name Abby?" asked Dina and Ellie shook her head "so shut the fuck up"

Ellie looked down and nervously pulled on her fingers. Dina focused her attention on Abby again and saw her swallowing but at least she held her stare. She had to give her that. 

"Answer me, Abigail" insisted Dina

Abby's beautiful blue eyes clearly showed her emotions. She probably sucked at playing games that required her to lie. She was anguished, confused, nervous and afraid. Had it not been for the hurt she had caused, Dina would feel very sorry for her. But she needed to know this. She was sure that her feelings for this blond girl were evolving and if Abby would rather be with that man than with Ellie and her it was best to stop this now before she fell in love. 

"As my family, yes, I love him in that way. I don't even think I want to stop talking to him, whatever you two may think about him, he's a good person. I'm sorry I hurt you both. I really am sorry and I don't want us to end but I will respect your decision" Abby replied

Dina would have lashed out again had it not been for the tremor in Abby's voice and for the withheld tears in her eyes. She didn't want to lose them and looked positively terrified. Dina analyzed her face and pondered the situation carefully. 

"I understand your thinking and your confusion. I can forgive you this" Abby let out a breath she had been holding and even Ellie seemed relieved when Dina said this.

"Thank you" Abby was close to tears when she said this

"But you better not repeat this" added Dina curtly

Abby shook her head vigorously, blinking and trying to rub her face from tears - that had finally fallen despite her efforts to hold them.

"This wasn't in my plans, I swear" explained Abby, embarrassed still "I know I don't always do the right thing but I honestly didn't mean to do this to any of you"

Abby seemed and sounded honestly sorry and Dina truly believed that if a person shows they regret their actions - completely and honestly - they deserved another chance but she wasn't sure she would accept another faux pass on Abby's part. By the looks of it, Ellie was as incapable as her to deal with that either. Abby had already apologized for what felt like an hour and a half by now so Dina decided it was time to lighten the mood, "And here I was, almost liking the guy”

Ellie looked alarmed and angry.

“What?” asked Ellie, her eyes alert and irate

“Not like that, babe” said Dina “is just that he was being nice and attentive to Mel and me. He even made food for all of us… Although I am flattered that now you can show some jealousy towards me too”

“I am always jealous” admitted Ellie, relaxing a bit “when I see you kiss Abby I'm also jealous”

“I am jealous too, that is why this is confusing” confessed Abby 

“I sort of like it too though” added Ellie "I mean you are hot, you are also hot so it's nice to watch too"

As Ellie said that she pointed at Dina then at Abby. Dina chuckled.

“Same” said Abby trying to hide the fact that she wanted to smile. She probably wasn't sure if she was allowed to do that yet.

“I kinda agree with Ellie here you know” said Dina to Abby “I do think he was trying to manipulate you”

“No he wasn’t” said Abby

“Why did he insist so much? He wanted you to fall for him again” said Dina

“Isn’t that what you want when you love someone, to know if they love you back? I don't think he meant anything sinister by that” said Abby

“If he even really feels like that. I mean, it has been how long since you guys aren't together?” asked Ellie

“Almost two years” said Abby

“Why now?” asked Ellie “all of a sudden he remembered you exist? At least it’s weird”

“Yeah, why mention he can leave Mel now? Sounds very douchey to me, leave her when she is pregnant” said Dina

“I don’t know” said Abby “I mean I agree it is not ok he wants to leave Mel all of a sudden but my revenge plans were the reason we grew apart”

“Look, if he cared, shouldn’t he have waited for you to sort your shit out?” asked Ellie

“I mean, it can be hard to live with someone who only wants revenge, remembering a bit of my old self… I don’t think I could live with someone like that to be honest” admitted Dina

“Still, I think it sounds fishy, I don’t trust the guy” said Ellie

“Anyway… I am still glad we cleared this anyway, I was worried that Shaggy was going to steal our girl” said Dina

Abby wasn't able to stop herself now and laughed.

“Is that what I am, your girl?” said Abby, amused

“Of course, we are together, aren’t we?... Bold of Shaggy to assume he was better looking than me” joked Dina.

“C'omon he is a bit stronger than Shaggy at least” said Abby

“Careful there, Abby” said Dina and pointed a finger at Abby “that sounded like you wanted to compliment him, not appreciated right now”

“Sorry, I had to defend my taste” said Abby bashfully “it’s not that bad, I am trying to be with you now, aren’t I?”

“Correct” said Dina, coming closer to Abby. Her eyes widened when she did this and Dina almost laughed at her expression. Abby looked at her with expectation and gratitude, probably still relieved she had been forgiven. Dina put a hand on her cheek and gave her a brief kiss. When she pulled back, Abby was smiling at her. Dina smirked and tilted her head “or you can say you improved your taste”

“Someone thinks a bit high of themselves” said Abby

“I’m glorious and you know it” said Dina

“Nobody doubts that and if they do I’ll fight them” said Ellie and hugged Dina

"If you do please do kill them" teased Dina, turning and giving Ellie a kiss

"If you want me to" shrugged Ellie

"You realize I am kidding, right?" asked Dina just in case

"Of course" replied Ellie, then she turned more serious “how are you feeling?”

“Slightly better, thanks for bringing those warm water bags, really nice touch” said Dina and smiled at her

“Glad you liked it” said Ellie smiling

“We should sleep” said Abby and brought some covers

“I don’t know if I can today but I can try” said Dina suggestively "make up sex can be pretty intense"

“I didn’t mean it like that” said Abby and rolled her eyes but she was smiling.

“Are you sure?” teased Dina

Abby caressed Dina’s hair.

“As much as I would love to, I think I rather let you rest. You still look pale” said Abby 

Ellie seemed moved to see Abby worried about Dina. It was really touching.

“She’s right” said Ellie

“Another day then” smiled Dina. She gave a soft kiss to Abby and then another to Ellie.

Abby covered Dina and then Ellie gave Abby a light kiss.

"Good night" they whispered to each other

They laid down and soon after that Dina fell asleep. She woke up quite early and had to go to the bathroom to puke. She cleaned herself however she could and went back to bed.

“Hey” said Ellie when she was back “next time just use this bucket”

“It would smell horrible” said Dina

“We can take it” said Ellie

“Yeah” said Abby sounding very tired “we can take it"

"We have strong stomachs” said Ellie

"We definitely have that, proven by today's scenery" said Abby, slurring.

"What was it?" asked Dina

"I'll tell you tomorrow" said Abby and caressed Dina's back and hugged her from behind.

Dina rested her head on Ellie's shoulder and slept. It felt very safe to be sleeping between these two.

The following day Nora woke up in the afternoon. She was in one of the rooms and Abby went to talk to her. Dina and Ellie waited outside but could still hear them.

"Hey, glad that you are awake" said Abby

"Glad that you are alive" said Nora "come and give me a hug"

Abby laughed and they heard some noise. They imagined she complied with the request.

"Owen told me this crazy story about you and that girl who kidnapped you, some scar kids and you giving up on killing Joel" said Nora laughing " I told him he should share whatever he was drinking, sounds like fun"

"Funny story, it's all actually true" Abby laughed nervously.

"What?" asked Nora, "what do you mean? Which part?"

"All the parts…" said Abby "Ellie is Joel's daughter, she was just protecting her dad" 

"Are you serious?" asked Nora and sounded incredulous

"Yes, look, had it been me I would have done the same or worse, you know that. Regardless of how much of a shitty person Joel is, Ellie is… Ellie is a good person. She doesn’t deserve to lose her dad. She and Dina, that's Ellie's girlfriend, helped me come here and look for you. And on the way we found Yara and Lev, they were being followed by the Seraphites" said Abby

"But they are scars themselves, at least that's what Owen said" said Nora

"Seraphites" corrected Abby "They were but they are being hunted, they are just kids, they deserve a safe place”

"What's going on?" asked Lev, approaching Dina. 

"Shh, we're trying to listen to Abby's conversation" whispered Dina

"Isn't that rude?" asked Lev

"Shh!" Ellie shushed them

“Those kids would have grown to be killers” said Nora

Lev shut up when he heard that and also seemed curious to listen. Yara came near and it seemed she also wanted to ask something but Lev gestured to her to shut up.

“You don’t know that and now they are not there anymore, who cares what they would have done? They have not gone that way, they are here and they need help” said Abby

“Who are you and what did you do to my friend?” said Nora but she sounded amused more than vexed. 

Abby laughed.

“Look”, said Abby after a while “I know this might be too much but the reason why we are here, apart from wanting to help you, make sure that you are safe… was because we wanted to ask something from you and Mel… well, after last night I doubt that Mel wants anything to do with me but maybe you can help us” 

“What is it?” asked Nora

“Ok… the thing is… we wanted to know if there is still any way to make the vaccine, if maybe you and Mel would be able to do it, maybe with the facilities available at the WLF hospital…” said Abby

“Abby, that’s not possible” interrupted Nora “for a couple of reasons, first we do not have the immune person”

“What if you did?” interrupted Ellie and went to the room.

Dina sighed, asked Lev and Yara to wait there and went after her. This was going to be annoying, as she had suspected.


	23. Ellie

“What?” asked Nora. Abby was shaking her head to Ellie.

“This is Ellie, and this is Dina, uhm… this is Nora” said Abby, introducing them all

“What do you mean if we had the immune person?” asked Nora intrigued

“We know her” said Dina before Ellie could talk “and we can take you to her but for that we need to know if there is a way to make a vaccine without killing her”

Ellie looked at her but said nothing. Dina narrowed her eyes at Ellie and gave her such a reproachful look that Ellie lowered her head. She was not supposed to reveal herself just yet and Dina was probably upset at her right now. _Shit_ , thought Ellie. Somehow Dina kept being disappointed by her two girlfriends.

“So that was the reason?” asked Mel. She was standing on the door “that is why these two helped you?”

Abby looked annoyed but she did not say anything to Mel.

“We’re trying to have a conversation with your friend” said Dina with a surprisingly even voice “why are you here?”

“We’re sharing the room,” explained Mel, sheepishly. Ellie suspected Mel might have heard something of what happened last night - Dina hadn’t necessarily been quiet so she could have - because she seemed to speak with more care, as if she didn’t want to anger Dina.

Abby looked to the side. Ellie felt sorry for her, she surely thought the fact that Mel wasn't in the same room with Owen was her fault.

“Please, don’t change the topic” said Mel and went to sit in a chair “you were saying something about the immune person, you located her?”

“Yes” said Ellie and crossed her arms. She was still annoyed at Mel. She could understand jealousy but Mel had been rude to Abby before the incident of the previous night.

“I’m sorry to say this but making a vaccine might not be possible” said Mel and then looked at Abby “we have to admit without the expertise it might not be possible anymore, your dad is dead and we don’t know what he knew”

“Is there really no other way?” asked Abby looking at Mel

“Are you sure, you are not just being horrible like you always are?” asked Ellie

Mel briefly looked at her but ignored her question.

“Regardless of what I think of you” said Mel looking at Abby “I respected your father and his work, this is something important. Maybe there are other experts out there but we just haven’t met them but there is no way for me to know if they survived this mess. Even if we have the girl, we can’t guarantee that we can make the cure. I’m sorry” 

“What about other doctors in Seattle? Maybe if you talk together with other colleagues you can come up with something” said Ellie

“There is another problem,” explained Nora “going back to Seattle might not be a good idea now. If they ever see the kids they will kill them, and not only that, the war with the scars has been going badly, terribly for us. There were too many dead wolves. Isaac is hiding this truth to the others, and they were planning a big assault. It is planned to occur a few days after we came back”

“How do you know about this assault?” asked Abby confused

“He mentioned it to Manny before we left, Manny told me on the way here” said Nora, “I didn’t know about it when we left, I was shocked to hear about it. We might have a shot but I’m not sure…” 

“Our people know of this assault,” said Yara. She was standing outside the room but she came nearer as she spoke, “I was a soldier in training but even I knew. Some Seraphite soldiers had captured a wolf who was very eager to talk, even promised to join us if we let him live. The Seraphites are ready for the attack” 

“Then everything is worse than I thought. Even if we manage to leave this place and go there without being attacked or stopped by infected, which is unlikely, we will probably get there by the time the attack has already passed, and there might be too many losses by then, I don’t know who would win the war” said Nora

“I’m sorry but I don’t think we can go back there,” said Mel. 

Ellie believed her, she was not lying, she could see it in her face.

“No,” said Ellie and sat on the floor. She was obviously crestfallen. Everything seemed lost, once more the chance to be of any use against the Cordyceps was escaping through her fingers. It was such bullshit, why the hell had she met the daughter of the man who would have made the cure if not to try and have a second chance of being useful? She was close to tears and was once more resenting Joel for taking away her choice. At the same time, she hated herself because she had been given a second chance with Joel, she could have lost him and instead she was annoyed once more with him. She had told him she was trying to forgive him and here she was, furious at him once more. How was she going to repair that relationship if she kept feeling bitter about his past actions? Everything was such a fucking mess. Dina’s gentle hands on her back brought Ellie back to this room and soothed her somehow. She looked at her and saw the worried look on those lovely dark eyes. She didn’t want to cause her stress but she wasn’t able to snap out of this so easily. Dina’s eyes were so compassionate and she really wanted to tell her that it was ok, that she would be fine, that she could accept this but she couldn’t lie to her. Dina was too clever to be fooled by mere words. Ellie felt she was close to falling into a despair precipice but that Dina’s presence, her warmth was taking her away from it, and at the same time she could see the gears moving inside her, she was planning something. 

“We do have a hospital in Jackson too” said Dina

“So?” replied Ellie but she looked at Dina with a slight hint of hope. She needed to believe there was something that could be done.

“Recently a brain surgeon arrived in Jackson, maybe if you two can talk to her, you three could come up with something...” Dina looked at Mel and Nora and added with a serious tone “something where the girl doesn’t die that is” 

“I am not sure, I knew some of Dr. Anderson’s work but I am not sure if I know enough” said Mel, truthfully

“My dad always said you were the best of his students, I am sure you are capable” said Abby.

Ellie admired that Abby could talk to her after what had happened. She was really committed to this. Hope blossomed inside her and she was thankful to have these girls in her life.

“We can at least try, and it is best to go there than to arrive in a desolate and destroyed city” said Nora

“I didn’t feel like staying in Seattle anyway” admitted Mel then looked at Dina “if this place is really a place where one can start over then I want to try”

Despite their issues, Dina smiled at Mel and nodded.

“This could work” said Dina to Ellie “have faith”

“You know I don’t believe in that” said Ellie

“Well I do” said Dina and shrugged. Ellie kissed her, she was so lucky Dina was here.

“It’s worth a shot,” said Ellie.

She stood up and helped Dina stand up. She was in such a celebratory mood that she looked at Abby and opened her arms but waited for Abby to decide. Dina was also staring at Abby expectantly. Abby bit her lips and seemed to doubt what to do.

“Hug?” asked Ellie.

Abby sighed and went to them and they hugged. For sure Ellie and Dina wanted a kiss but this was a start.

When they pulled back Ellie noticed that Mel was looking at Abby puzzled and then looked at Nora who seemed amused. Nora shrugged and smiled. It seemed that at least Nora was a true friend of Abby. Ellie did not even want to think about Owen, she would have gutted him if she had the chance, and Mel was terrible to Abby. It was good that at least someone in the group was nice to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t detest Owen but I do think that when one is jealous one does not see the ex of one’s love interest with good eyes, hence the bad feelings towards Owen.  
> I’m playing with the timelines and changing some things here, hope you guys don’t mind.


	24. Abby

Mel was checking on Yara and told her her wounds were better but she needed to be careful. Abby told her she would carry her backpack when they would leave so she didn’t need to worry. Yara was thankful but refused the help. Dina was downstairs in the basement, said she had an idea about the radio and Ellie went with her to help. Lev also went to check because he was curious about how one repairs these things and Yara decided she also wanted to see this. Nora was resting, still too hurt to move. Abby went to check the provisions and to arrange something to eat when someone came to her.

“Where are Dina and Ellie?” asked Mel looking around carefully

“They are in the basement, trying to contact the people in Jackson” answered Abby

“Both of them?” asked Mel

“Yes” replied Abby and for some reason felt this was not going to be nice. Mel’s face relaxed at hearing that but then she looked annoyed at Abby

“What exactly are you playing at?” asked Mel 

“I am not playing at anything,” replied Abby, exhausted. It had been emotionally draining to have that argument the night before. While discussing with Ellie had been painful, the talk with Dina had made her stomach hurt. She had been so close to losing them over her lack of control and she still felt very stupid about it. She didn't need a reminder of this right now but obviously Mel wasn't done with her.

“You aren’t happy ruining one relationship, want to ruin two?” asked Mel

“What are you talking about?” asked Abby and turned around to face her

“Ellie and you, you are trying to steal Ellie from Dina, aren’t you?” said Mel

“I am not” said Abby indignant “Look I am sorry about Owen and I but Ellie was right, I did not do this alone, it was both of us and as far as I am concerned that means your problem is with Owen so you two go and figure things out”

“How can I do that when you are doing that much effort to win him back?” asked Mel

“I am not doing that” complained Abby

“Why are you helping scars, why are you helping those girls? Or is it because you want to sleep with Ellie? Is it because of that?” asked Mel

“No, I just… it’s not scars ok, it’s seraphites and they are just kids and Ellie…” _Fuck it,_ thought Abby “I like her ok, so what? How is that your problem?”

“So you are going to ruin her relationship with Dina then” said Mel

“As a matter of fact, no” said Abby, tired of all the bullshit “because I am actually with both”

Mel was taken aback. She was not expecting this.

“You are what?” asked Mel

“What you heard, I like Dina too” said Abby “we three are together”

Mel was speechless. She sat on a chair.

“That is too much” said Mel after a while

“Well, that is my problem” said Abby.

Mel scoffed and then sat there silently for some seconds.

“You know this is almost tragically funny because I have no doubt that those girls will literally murder you next time you try something funny with Owen” commented Mel “which I am sure you will”

“I’m not… nevermind” said Abby, this was such a pointless discussion. She continued preparing food and then she gave a sandwich to Mel. 

“I’m not hungry” said Mel dismissively 

“I’ll leave it here in case you change your mind” said Abby and went to take the food to the people in the basement.

Dina had managed to repair the radio and was trying to communicate with people at Jackson. But she still looked pale.

"Shouldn't you rest?" asked Abby

"I've been telling her that but she's just stubborn" complained Ellie

"I'm teaching Lev and Yara and at least they are interested in learning" said Dina "and look who's talking about being stubborn"

"I'm not that stubborn" said Ellie then looked at Abby "help me here, will you?"

"You are both impossible" said Abby and gave each a kiss on the forehead.

Ellie and Dina looked at her surprised but approvingly at the same time.

"Look at you, all confident with the PDAs and all" teased Ellie

Abby rolled her eyes. 

"Don't make me regret this" said Abby

She put the sandwiches on the table.

"Thank you" said Lev and Yara

"I'm having fun with this radio, we had not learn how to use this yet, Yara was going to teach me when she learnt" said Lev

"Is that something else soldiers are allowed to use?" asked Abby

"Yes" said Yara "it's a good way to learn about wolf activities" 

"Well now we just hope it's a way to contact home, tell them we're ok, not checking on wildlife" joked Dina

Ellie laughed but Lev and Yara didn't seem to get the joke. Abby would have protested but then decided against it. The mood was far too nice to ruin it with a ridiculous defense on her former group.

"Your people must be worried" said Lev and then he looked at Ellie "I feel for your dad"

"Yeah, he's going to kill me when he sees me" said Ellie and scratched her head

Lev gasped

"Then we should escape him" said Lev "we can go to another town"

"What? No, he's not going to kill me for real, it's an expression. I mean he's probably going to be very angry at me" explained Ellie

"Your expressions are very strange" said Lev

"I was confused too, you didn't seem scared to die" admitted Yara

"Don't worry, we'll get you two up to date in no time" said Abby and went to the stairs. As she was going up she heard them talk.

"What does that mean?" asked Lev

"It mean that soon you will understand all the weird things she says" joked Ellie

"You say plenty of weird things" commented Yara to Ellie

Abby smiled. Those kids were funny. They maybe didn't realize it yet though. She was thinking this when she saw Owen in a room rearranging some bandages in an injury he had in his leg. Abby sighed and took the food to him.

"Here" said Abby, kneeled and left the sandwich next to him

"Thanks" said Owen

Abby noded and began to stand up. 

"Abby, wait" said Owen

"Owen" said Abby "don't start"

"Abby, I'm sorry about how it ended but I didn't lie to you yesterday" said Owen

Abby sat, facing Owen. It seemed they needed to talk but she was going to be careful this time and stay away from him.

“I’m also sorry if you really did not want it… I’m sorry that I did not stop when you were shaking your head” said Owen “i thought that was just… you feeling guilty not that you didn’t want it” 

Abby sighed

“I may have wanted it but… it was still something we shouldn’t do… and also why did you have to say that?" said Abby "how can you say you always cared about me? You are with Mel"

"But it's true, I've never forgotten about you" said Owen

"Owen, that can't be true" said Abby "you grew tired of me, I know you did" 

"That was before, you were fixed on revenge, that was the only thing in your mind, there was no time for anything or anyone else" said Owen

Abby looked down. He might have a point.

"Maybe so…" admitted Abby "but then we still drifted apart. You moved on and so should I" 

"But I still care, Abby" insisted Owen "I did not lie, I do love you"

"Owen" said Abby and put her fingers in her forehead, massaging herself there "stop saying that. You left me, it's over" 

"It doesn't have to be" insisted Owen "you were always important, all this time I have loved you"

Abby stared at him, shocked.

"That's terrible" said Abby

"Why?" asked Owen

"Are you telling me that all this time you have been thinking of me?" asked Abby

"Yes," said Owen "why is that terrible?"

"Because you were dating Mel" said Abby "Owen, being with someone while still hung up on someone else...that's a shitty thing to do, why did you do it?"

Owen looked confused, he opened his mouth but said nothing.

"At least I had the decency to not date others while I was thinking of you” said Abby 

“What about George and Jack?” asked Owen.

Abby always thought she was discreet about these two. She had a fling with one and later with the other but they had known that it was nothing but a fling. 

“They knew I wasn’t serious, they were not expecting a relationship from me” said Abby “Mel is expecting it from you”

“I think she no longer is” said Owen

“What?” asked Abby, surprised.

“We talked yesterday and she asked me for some time off,” said Owen “I think it’s fair. I was honest and told her I still have feelings for you”

“Why are you doing this now?” asked Abby “this is shit, this is the worst time you could have decided to be honest”

“Because I think we can fix this, we can be together now” said Owen

Abby scoffed. 

“Owen… we grew apart for a reason” said Abby “what makes you think a second time it would be any better?”

“Yes, but the reason is now gone” said Owen “if you really are letting this go I think it can work”

“It’s too late” said Abby

“No, you already said that yesterday but I don’t agree” said Owen

“I am not just talking about you and Mel” said Abby and sighed. _Here goes nothing_ , though Abby and gathered her courage “I’m sort of… I’m busy myself”

“What do you mean?” asked Owen

“I’m dating…someone else” said Abby

“What? Who?” asked Owen confused

“It doesn’t matter” said Abby and stood up “what matters is that I am trying to move on and so should you” 

“Abby, why are you lying now? I told you I am leaving Mel” asked Owen, standing up too

“I am not lying and leaving Mel is your problem, your choice, not mine. Just because now you are single it doesn’t mean I am going back to you” said Abby

“But I thought…” said Owen “I missed you, I know you missed me too, I felt it yesterday”

“I don’t care about yesterday” said Abby

“Well I do” said Owen “it felt good to be with you”

“Just because it felt good, it doesn’t make it right” said Abby

Owen looked at her, his eyes were full of hurt and surprise. She shouldn't feel so hurt at seeing him like that but she did. Even then she needed to make things clear.

“Look, I’m in the middle of something right now, can’t deal with you so please leave me alone” said Abby and left him.

He did not go after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think no one owes a person a relationship, not particularly in the case of Owen and Abby. I think if you go and break up with someone because you have your eyes set on someone else and then try to date that someone else, you have to be ready to be turned down.


	25. Dina

“I did it! I made contact” said Dina to everyone. 

They were gathered in the living room of the house, making plans on how to go back. She was happy she had managed so she had run to come and tell them but then she felt like puking. Ellie ran to her and gave her a bucket and Dina puked.

“How hot am I now?” joked Dina

“I would say pretty hot” said Ellie

Dina smiled at Ellie and took her hand. Ellie helped her sit.

“Let me take care of that,” said Abby and took the bucket away. Dina winked at her

“Thanks” said Dina to Abby

“No problem” said Abby

“Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I could contact them briefly” said Dina and came near the map Lev had found days ago when he went with Ellie and Abby to explore for provisions “they said there was a big storm and blocked this and this path”

Dina pointed in the map the places she mentioned.

“And also blocked this way so they had been searching for us and could not come here so we might be able to go through here” said Dina showing them the place “but it’s a longer route and there are several bridges to cross and I am unsure about their state” 

“That is amazing babe” said Ellie and clasped one hand in Dina’s. Dina chuckled.

Then they both realized Abby looked horrified. Ellie put her other hand on Abby’s hand.

“We can do this” said Ellie

Abby looked at Ellie’s hand on her and remained quiet for a while. For a second Dina thought she would push it away but then Abby turned her hand and grabbed Ellie’s hand. Ellie smiled at her while Abby slowly rose her head and looked at her and then at Dina. 

_Oh dear_ , thought Dina. This woman was going to make her melt right there with that stare.

Dina noticed on the periphery of her eyesight that Nora was covering her mouth and smiling while Mel seemed to be judging them all with her stare.

Dina sighed and continued.

“Sadly Iost the communication before I could tell them much more but I did manage to tell them we are a group of 8” said Dina

“So you couldn’t ask them if they will accept us there?” asked Mel

“I was about to do that but as I said, lost the communication” said Dina “I’m sorry but I still think that will not be a problem. We will vouch for you” 

“You don’t even like me” said Mel

“That doesn’t matter,” said Dina, “you think I like everyone in Jackson? There was this guy who was super rude to Ellie and I a couple of days at a dance party”

“True” said Ellie chuckling while holding Abby’s and Dina’s hands, “He’s probably going to dislike us more now”

“Fuck him” said Dina and shrugged “In any case, more doctors and more fit people who want to turn a page in their lives are always welcomed”

“Even… unusual people?” asked Lev, who was still apprehensive.

“Lev, are you looking at this?” said Dina pointing at herself, Ellie and Abby “if I am not afraid neither should you” 

“They would be lucky to have you both” said Abby “you are great kids”

Lev smiled and nodded. Yara put a hand on Lev’s back and they seemed happy to hear this.

Since Nora, Yara, Mel and Dina seemed to be doing better they grabbed all the things and took them with them. Abby and Ellie suggested they could distribute Dina’s things among themselves so that she wouldn’t have to carry it but Dina refused. Then Abby said she could take some of Mel’s stuff but Mel said no. Nora and Owen distributed some of her stuff in their backpacks and left. Yara refused to receive help and said she was fine. Lev and her fought a bit but he ended up accepting her decision.

They met a couple of infected on the way and killed them quietly and some not so quietly, courtesy of Dina and Ellie and their bombs. Then they reached the first bridge. Abby looked at it apprehensively. Ellie and Dina both held her hands without even talking about it. Abby looked at them.

“We can do this” said Dina

“We got you” said Ellie

Abby smiled briefly and sighed. 

“Let’s go,” said Abby as bravely as she could. 

Lev and Yara went in front, then Mel, Nora and Owen. Ellie, Abby and Dina went last. They went slowly and Abby had to make an effort not to look down. Ellie tried telling absurd jokes to keep her distracted and it seemed to work. 

At one point Abby almost fell but they pulled her back. She seemed nauseated since she had seen the precipice but they tried telling her they were near. So Abby swallowed, stood up and they continued. Finally they reached the other side but there were other bridges and they were in even worse condition than the previous one. It was also hard because parts of it were frozen and slippery but slowly, probably slower than the others wanted to go, they went through. 

Eventually they reached an abandoned town. There were several infected but Abby seemed to have so much adrenaline she had to release it at these creatures. They killed as much of them as they could until they found a house that could serve as shelter. They checked it and then went in.

“I’m going to go hunt something ok?” said Ellie

“See you in a bit” said Dina and kissed her

“I’m coming too” said Abby

“Me too” said Lev 

“I should go too” said Owen

“Owen!” complained Mel

“I rather you stay with them” said Abby “they need you”

“Abby” said Owen, unaware of the hateful stare both Mel and Dina were giving him.

“Please set your priorities right, stay and help here” said Abby and turned to leave. 

Before leaving she came to Dina and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Dina smiled at her and waved goodbye. 

_A hug, hand holding and now a kiss on the cheek, I’m so blessed_ , thought Dina. Maybe Abby would soon be kissing her in public. She hoped she would. The interaction between her and Owen was not something she enjoyed observing but at least it seemed that Abby hadn't lied and wanted to move on for real.

When they left Dina looked again at the map and planned with the rest where to go next.

“It’s a pity we won’t go through your wine place again” said Nora “sounded like a fun place”

“Yeah” said Dina remembering their first night together

“What presents can we take them then?” asked Yara

“We will have to see but don’t worry about that, the important thing is to reach there safely first” said Dina “if we find nothing then we would just have to work extra in building defenses, a house or something, we’ll see”

“I don’t think you should be working harder in anything right now” said Mel “You look very tired everyday. I hope you are not overusing your energy in very taxing… activities” 

Dina was taken aback but amused at the same time.

“I swear to you, doctor, that I am doing fine, just tired and stressed you know there is a little bit of danger outside” said Dina sarcastically

Mel narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

“I am serious. You should tell them not to keep you awake too late at night” said Mel. Dina would have taken offense but she realized Mel was truly concerned, she wasn’t just being annoying.

“Mel, that’s too much” said Nora “let them have fun, I wish I had two pretty girlfriends”

Mel looked at her with a fulminant stare. 

“What?” said Nora shrugging “I am just admiring her luck”

“I hope more people would have your attitude” said Dina

“Me too” said Nora

“I am having a hard time understanding it to be honest. Abby never dated women” said Owen

“I’m just that good looking,” said Dina confidently and shrugged.

Mel rolled her eyes.

“She kinda is and smart too” whispered Nora to Owen.

Owen seemed affronted but said nothing.

“I’m not just looks you know, I have a good grasp on electronics, bombs, knife fights, all sorts of things,” said Dina, carefully looking at Owen. 

“Abby mentioned this, she was very impressed” commented Nora. 

“You are talking like that is a good thing” mentioned Owen

“To survive out there it is” clarified Dina coldly

“Do you think we could go through here?” asked Yara looking at the map and completely ignoring the conversation

“Let me see” said Dina, Yara was probably right in focusing on what to do next, Dina shouldn’t waste her time on trying to pick a fight with Abby’s ex, “the problem here would be that in this path there was a river. If it is all frozen we might be able to cross it but I am not sure if at the time of the year it was frozen. Otherwise it could be hard” 

“Could we cut down some trees and make a bridge?” asked Yara

“I'm not sure… it could be possible except you are not going to be Abby’s favorite person if she finds out you suggested this” smiled Dina

“She will survive” said Yara “I trust you can help her” 

Dina smiled at her. 

“We could shorten the way back if we do that but it’s risky” said Dina

“I think we can try” said Owen looking at Mel and how pale she was “If we can get there sooner it will be best”

“Ok, we’ll talk to Lev, Abby and Ellie when they are back and see what they think” said Dina

“I think it’s better if we just tell them we are going that way” said Nora 

“Why?” asked Mel

“They are already doing the food collecting and hunting, we have to do this part, the decision making part. And also, we have to get there sooner” said Nora and looked at Mel

“I’m fine” said Mel

“You aren’t” said Nora “I don’t agree with everything you say but you are still my friend”

Mel smiled at her briefly. 

“Ok, so we do that” said Yara “hope this place really can accept us” 

“They will,” said Dina reassuringly. 

  
  


Later Ellie, Lev and Dina arrived. They told them how they almost died in the middle of an infected horde and that they somehow escaped alive. But they had been able to gather some food on the way. Lev went to see his sister and gave her new bandages he had found on the way there.

They ate and then lay down to sleep. At some point during the night Ellie said she wanted to go to the roof to check if the horde had really not followed them so she did that. Abby seemed to be conflicted on whether to stay with Dina or go with Ellie and in the end she stayed.

“Dina” whispered Abby sitting on the floor, where they had placed some clothes as mattresses to sleep.

“Yes? What is troubling you?” asked Dina

“Out there… I thought I would lose Ellie” said Abby 

Abby bit her lips. She looked scared.

“I can only imagine, I am glad you survived” said Dina and caressed her arms.

Abby looked at her. It was dark but Dina could distinguish details on her face and her expressions. Like the intensity of her guilt for example.

“I… we kissed” said Abby

Dina sighed. 

“I suspected as much” said Dina “eventually you were going to do that with one of us while the other isn’t there”

“You… are not mad?” asked Abby

“Oh, Abby” said Dina and caressed her hair. It was so beautiful “you are my lover, not my rival”

Abby chuckled

“Is that what I am?” asked Abby

“I can call you my girl, or She-ra, that suits you nicely” said Dina

Abby laughed but tried to shut up, looking around if someone woke up after that.

“I am glad you aren’t offended” said Abby

“I am a bit jealous” said Dina “but that was eventually going to happen… besides, aren’t you jealous all those times Ellie and I kiss in public”

“I’m just gathering up my courage to do the same with you” confessed Abby

Dina shivered and it wasn’t from the cold.

“Well, we are sort of in public but in the dark now… care to try?” asked Dina, remembering she had not puked today and therefore her breath wouldn’t be foul. There was no door on this room they had chosen and even though they tried to sleep behind the wall, trying to be less visible to the rest, they could easily be spotted. 

Abby pressed her lips together and seemed nervous but she came closer and closer, her eyes darting from Dina’s eyes to her lips, making Dina smile. She didn’t know why but this felt as if they were teenagers, nervous, excited and just so eager. Abby paused briefly and Dina placed a hand on her cheek, gently pulling her towards herself and Abby closed her eyes and kissed her.


	26. Ellie

“I got it,” said Ellie, putting her bow away. 

Abby went to grab the deer. She carried it in her shoulders even though it was very heavy, she was just that strong. Lev and Ellie were carrying a couple of rabbits, some that he himself had caught and some that Ellie had caught. 

“I think this has to be enough,” said Abby.

“Yeah, and the canned food that we found, this should be fine now” said Ellie

“We should head back then” suggested Lev “before it’s dark”

They were going back and Lev was mentioning some ideas he had about the food and how to prepare or preserve it.

“My mom used to prepare meat with salt to preserve the food but now with all the snow we could even leave some outside and it would still last.” said Lev “we could also prepare that with some herbs or those condiments Ellie found and leave it to rest in the soil, except that we are not staying here so we can’t really do it like that, unless we stay for one day”

“I guess we will have to just cook it and take it” said Ellie “Dina is not feeling any better and neither is Mel”

“I thought you were not a fan” said Abby

“I am not but we need her, don’t we?” said Ellie

Abruptly, Abby stopped walking.

“Did you hear that?” said Abby

They remained quiet and heard many people walking and grunting. But that was not the sound people make really. 

“Infected” whispered Ellie and looked around. 

She saw a building near them. She climbed on it and used her binoculars. She gestured to them to come up with her. Abby left the deer on the floor and both of them went up with her. Ellie gave them the binoculars.

“Fuck” whispered Abby

“It’s so many of them” said Lev

“They are headed towards our hiding place, we have to direct them elsewhere” said Abby

Ellie looked in her backpack and then around. There was an old gas station not far from there.

“I have an idea. I’ll blow that shit up, that should make them come this way” said Ellie

“It could work” said Abby “we could look if we find anything explosive in that pharmacy and set it on fire too, to make them come to that direction too, so the horde separates a bit more”

“And then we can escape through there” said Lev pointing at some old trees that had a canopy adventure themed bridges “those bridges look study enough”

Abby swallowed but she nodded bravely.

“We’ll have to run fast” said Abby

Both nodded and then Ellie left. The old gas station had not that much gas anymore so Ellie went looking for gas in the cars. Inside one car she found ropes and manuals and thought maybe she could take them just in case, so she did. She tried to hurry up and then went back to the gas station and set some bombs. She then left the place and threw a molotov to the gas station, a first thunderous explosion was heard and then another. Then the pharmacy some blocks away blew up as well. 

The infected started coming that way and Ellie ran towards the trees but when she was about to reach them she saw that infected were coming from the forest so she ran to the other direction. And she saw infected coming that way so she threw her other molotovs at them and shot at some others. She escaped the grasp of an infected and then shot at another and kept running. She felt that something fell from her backpack but she did not turn around to see what it was. There were too many and she knew that she was not going to be able to fight them all but she kept going until she saw an old garbage truck against a building and she climbed it. She turned around and shot at some other infected and then climbed as fast as she could a small set of stairs that was against the wall. She got to the ceiling and observed the infected down there. Some were still looking at her but then they got distracted by another explosion. Part of the infected went that way and another part went to a different direction. Ellie looked and saw that another store some blocks away was now burning. Then she looked down and saw Abby killing the infected down there and Lev also making his way there. They managed to get to her and climb to where Ellie was.

“Are you ok?” asked Abby when she climbed there

“Yeah, why didn’t you escape through the woods? Did you get attacked too?” asked Ellie

“We didn’t. We were already up there when Abby saw you. She threw the deer at some infected to make them go that way and then we came for you” said Lev

“What?” said Ellie, “why?”

“I had to help you” said Abby

“Fuck, Abby. How are we escaping now?” said Ellie “at least you should have gone and you threw away the food too”

“Hey, asshole, I am not leaving without you” said Abby looking at the horde.

Ellie was moved but then she needed to think how to leave this mess now. They could wait until the horde passed but if they stayed there outside they could freeze, they needed a closed area at least. She looked around and saw some planks.

“Ok, I got a plan” said Ellie

“Let me guess, I am not gonna like it” said Abby

“Bingo” said Ellie pointing her fingers at Abby

“What is that?” asked Lev

“A game, I promise I’ll teach you that and backgammon once we are in a safer place” said Abby

Ellie put a plank and connected the building with another one and then they crossed. Abby managed but she was shaking all the time. At one point she almost slipped but Ellie got her in time. Then she took that same plank and repeated the procedure until they got to a building that had a door they could open and they went quietly inside. They saw no infected in the upper floor, probably since it was completely blocked from the lower floors. They blocked the door and observed from the windows and waited. At some point Lev fell asleep and Abby and Ellie were still observing the passing horde. Maybe in half an hour the horde would be gone. 

“You know you did not need to do that” said Ellie at Abby, who was looking outside.

“I almost lost you there” said Abby simply

Ellie scoffed.

“You are not getting rid of me that easily” joked Ellie

“Luckily” said Abby and looked at her.

Ellie’s smile faded and she looked at Abby. It seemed like time stopped. Something changed and she could not quite be sure what it was. Abby was looking at her as if she was a fallen star or some magical being, something precious, something important. Ellie could not help herself. She went to Abby and kissed her. She had intended for this to be a simple kiss but then Abby opened her mouth and she lost sense of her initial intentions. Abby was panting and making it harder for Ellie to stop. Ellie pushed her against the wall. Without thinking she put a leg in between Abby’s legs and pressed her core and Abby let out a moan that made Ellie’s entire body boiling hot. Ellie kissed her more and slowly moved her hand down Abby’s body and down the space between her legs and caressed her there. Abby moaned more and Ellie continued caressing her there with more intensity. She just wanted to put her fingers inside Abby.

Then Abby pushed her back slightly.

“Fuck” Abby whispered “we shouldn’t, Lev is just there”

“Oh, true” said Ellie and looked at him.  Luckily he seemed to be still asleep.  “Sorry, got carried away” apologized Ellie and gave Abby more space

Abby grabbed Ellie’s face and gave her a gentle kiss.

“Later” said Abby and then turned to watch at the infected again.

Ellie chuckled.

“I guess so,” said Ellie.

They continued watching and then after a while Ellie spoke again.

“I… am glad you came for me” said Ellie

“You are welcome” said Abby

“You do still have the canned food, right?” asked Ellie

Abby rolled her eyes.

“You know those are not good to hit or attract infected, do you?” said Abby smiling

“Yeah” said Ellie “I figured”

“Lev also has the rabbits too, so no worries” said Abby, 

“Oh true, I probably lost mine when I was running” said Ellie remembering only now about them.

“Luckily I put mine in my backpack” said Lev

They both turned to look at him.

“Sorry I fell asleep” said Lev and looked outside

Abby and Ellie looked at each other. They both hoped he had not seen them.

“It’s ok, you were probably tired” said Abby

Lev looked at Abby and then again outside.

“Don’t worry, I was only waking up when you two decided not to proceed” said Lev

Ellie felt her cheeks grow hotter and then looked at Abby who seemed like she would combust right there.

“Oh my god… Sorry Lev… I..” said Abby and looked at Ellie

“I mean, thank you not doing that, it would have been awkward to hear all that” said Lev “not that I haven’t before”

“What?” asked Ellie

“Oh, I don’t mean you, I mean back in Seattle” said Lev shrugging “on our island and when we were escaping, saw and heard some people”

“Well, that your have already heard it… and we didn't just kill your innocence here… that’s a… relief” said Ellie 

Abby looked at her reproachfully

“Relief?” asked Abby “are you serious?”  Then she looked at Lev,  “Lev, you are a kid”

“I’m 13” said Lev

“To be fair, I was sort of like that at 13 too” said Ellie “not like people care that much about childhood innocence in these times”

Abby sighed. 

“You are probably right” said Abby, “I still wouldn’t do it in front of a kid”

“Well, you almost did” said Lev

“Sorry, Lev” said Abby

“It’s ok,” said Lev, “I have no idea how that feels. Never been interested in anyone yet”

“Really? At your age I had already kissed a girl” said Ellie

“Wow” said Abby “really, Dina?”

“No, I only met Dina in Jackson” said Ellie “it was my friend, her name was Riley. She wanted to join the fireflies”

“What happened to her?” asked Lev

Ellie sighed. She still missed Riley.

“An infected bit her” said Ellie

“Sorry” said Lev

“Yeah” said Ellie thinking about all the people she had lost already.

“At 13 I still hadn't kissed anyone” said Abby, distracting Ellie’s thoughts “I did like a guy though”

“How did you know what you liked best?” asked Lev

“I guess I never thought about it” confessed Abby “I always assumed I just liked guys” Abby looked at Ellie briefly, “Turns out I liked girls too, who knew?” 

Ellie smiled.

“Interesting” said Lev “I sometimes wonder what Yara likes, I had the feeling she likes no one that way”

“That is a possibility” said Ellie

“Really?” asked Lev

“Yeah, why not?” said Ellie

“Never thought of that” confessed Lev

“Look” interrupted Abby “I think it’s safe now. Let’s go”

Once they were near the house it seemed Abby started to feel uncomfortable.

“You ok there, babe?” whispered Ellie

Abby seemed surprised and looked at her flustered.

“Uhm… It’s just… do you think Dina will be ok… with us.. You know?” asked Abby

“Oh” said Ellie “gotta ask her I guess”

Ellie thought about this. How would she feel if they had done that without her. Jealous, definitely. 

“I guess she can be a little pissed but… it was going to happen eventually. Even with you and her” said Ellie

Abby stayed silent and continued walking.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok” said Ellie and caressed Abby’s arm “we’ll talk about it”

Abby nodded but she was still serious. 

They arrived and told everyone what had happened. Luckily Lev didn’t say anything about Abby and Ellie’s indiscretion but Ellie knew she needed to talk to Dina at one point. Later Ellie decided to go to the ceiling to observe if they had truly not been followed. She observed with her binoculars and saw that there was nothing there. She sighed. She thought they had been truly fucked but luckily they escaped and it seems they had not been followed.

She went down and found Dina and Abby asleep in each other’s arms. It was quite the sweet picture. Ellie would have probably been incensed had Dina done that with anyone else but somehow with Abby it felt different. Looking at them made Ellie feel something warm inside and she wondered if they both felt the same. She laid down and hugged Dina from behind and fell asleep.


	27. Abby

It had taken a lot of effort to push Ellie aside when she kissed her. She wanted to beg her to put her fingers inside her instead but Lev was there. What was worse, he had heard them! Luckily they had not proceeded. Abby was surprised to find out that Ellie had kissed someone when she was 13, somehow now that she was seeing Lev she thought 13 was an age closer to diapers than to anything else. But then again Ellie had told her not so long ago she was 19 no, so not that older either. As they came near their hiding place, Abby started to feel bad for Dina and wondered what she would think of what Abby did with Ellie. She hoped Dina would not be angry at them. However she was not expecting to hear what Dina said.

_ You are my lover not my rival _

It was something quite nice to hear. Knowing she was not competing over anyone now, they were truly together, the three of them. And although it was true that Abby felt jealous when she saw them kissing and hugging freely the fact that she was not doing the same was her own doing. Maybe she did not need to hide this anymore, they all seemed to know anyway. What Abby also did not expect was for Dina to ask her for a kiss before bed. In particular because as she kissed her she realized she felt more than a mere liking towards these two. She was so fucked.

When she woke up she saw that she had fallen asleep while hugging Dina and that Ellie was on Dina’s other side. She looked at Ellie for a while. She looked so calm as she slept, no one would ever know by looking at her how deadly and clever this woman could be. Ellie stirred a little and then opened her eyes and smiled at her.

“Hey” said Ellie and gave her a gentle kiss then pulled back

“Sleep well?” asked Ellie

“Well enough” said Abby and looked down at Dina who was still very much asleep.

“She has not slept like this in a while” whispered Ellie “should we try and let her sleep more?”

“Sure” whispered Abby.

They both quietly tried to leave their makeshift bed. They were even more careful than if they had been facing a clicker.

They realized everyone had already woken up. Then they slowly went to the main room. 

“Glad you decided to join us” said Nora and gave Abby a knowing smile “sooo… when are you going to tell me more about your new relationship status?”

Mel was checking at Yara’s wounds and pretended to not see them while Owen was saving food in some boxes he had found. Lev was just eating and waved at them. Nora nudged at Abby and gave her a cup of tea. Abby chuckled.

“It’s… uhm” Abby “how can I put it?”

“Yeah” said Ellie looking at Abby and crossing her arms, waiting to see what she would say “how would  _ you _ put it?”

“You are not going to help me here?” asked Abby

“Nope, I’m curious too” said Ellie and grabbed something to eat.

Abby rolled her eyes.

“We’re just together” said Abby

“But I want details, how did it happen, when, how did you notice?” said Nora

“Can’t believe that Dina didn’t say anything yesterday” said Abby

“She just said it’s because she’s beautiful, which she is, can’t say anything about that, your taste has exponentially improved” said Nora lowering her voice conspiratorially.

“That’s what we said” said Ellie, then she also lowered her voice “can’t stand the dude either?

Ellie was pointing at Owen with her head.

“He’s actually a good friend but Abby and him...” said Nora and shook her head “nope”

“Couldn’t agree with you more” said Ellie “Dina is so much better than that”

“Don’t get me wrong, had you not been with Abby I would have maybe tried my luck with you” said Nora and arched an eyebrow

“What the fuck?” said Abby and looked at Nora with murder in her eyes

“Chill, she’s just kidding, babe” said Ellie to Abby

“The fuck she is” said Abby, annoyed

Nora winked at Ellie and Ellie looked down embarrassed. Abby narrowed her eyes at both of them.

“I don’t like where this is going” complained Abby

“Oh, c'omon, I’m just messing with you” said Nora “even your girl gets it”

“Yeah but she doesn’t know you like I do” said Abby “she doesn’t know how popular you were”

“Don’t worry, not gonna steal her from you, I have the feeling your girl Dina would blow me to pieces if I tried, anyway” said Nora

“So you are afraid of Dina and not me? Wow” said Abby offended

“Relax, if it is any consolation I think you can be terrifying” said Ellie to Abby .

“At least you can acknowledge my potential” said Abby sullenly

“Hi,” said Dina. She was rubbing her eyes and looking tired still.

“Sorry babe, we woke you up?” asked Ellie and went to her.

“Nah, I am just hungry” said Dina and kissed Ellie.

“Here” said Abby and gave her a piece of bread and an open can with food 

“Thanks,” said Dina and gave Abby a small kiss too.

Suddenly it seemed all eyes were on them three. Except for Yara and Lev who kept eating as if nothing had happened.

“Oh sorry” whispered Dina, now truly awake “I was still groggy and forgot..”

Abby sighed and hugged Dina.

“It’s ok, babe, the cat is out of the bag anyway” said Abby in a normal voice. Fuck them all if they could not take this.

“Where?” asked Lev. Abby looked at him.

“What?” asked Abby

“Where is the cat, in which bag? I didn’t see any cat” said Lev and looked around

“No Lev, it’s just an expression” explained Ellie

“Yeah, it means that something that was hidden is now known to all” clarified Abby

“What was hidden?” asked Lev

“She means us three” said Dina

“That was not hidden” said Lev even more confused and then disappointed “I really wanted a cat”

“I guess it somehow was because people here were still surprised just now” said Yara “don’t worry, maybe later we can find you a cat”

“Oh” said Lev “I see. If we can find a cat later, that would be nice,” t hen he continued eating.

“So” said Owen “you three are truly doing this” 

“Yup” said Ellie and crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly.

Mel looked at them but then seemed exhausted and just went to grab something to drink.

“Honestly I don’t care, anymore, as Abby said, your problem” said Mel dismissively, then she added in a lower voice “suicidal but whatever”

“I think it’s great” said Nora, “if that place is fine with this then I want to go there. Sounds more relaxing than Seattle”

She felt thankful for Lev, Yara and Nora. Abby smiled at Nora.

“We should probably get going” said Ellie and patted Abby’s back.

They packed up their things and started to leave. 

“Hey, Abby,” said Owen, “can I talk to you?”

Abby sighed and scratched her head. She didn’t need any more trouble.

“For real?” asked Abby

“Yeah, just some seconds” insisted Owen

Abby looked around and saw that Dina and Ellie were busy talking with Yara and Lev. 

“Fine, but don’t be weird, ok,?” asked Abby.

They went outside and he closed the door behind them.

“What are you doing?” asked Owen

“What do you mean?” asked Abby

“Suddenly you are dating Joel’s daughter? Is this some severe case of Stockholm syndrome?” asked Owen

“No” said Abby, annoyed at him “they didn’t kidnap me because they are weird or some shit, it was because they wanted to protect someone important to them. Wouldn’t you have done the same?” 

“Maybe but not you, you would have killed anyone who got in your way, I don’t understand what changed” said Owen

“Let me get this straight, you are annoyed that I didn’t kill her? Weren’t you the other person that day who agreed with me that we are not Joel, that we only came all this way for him?” asked Abby

“No, I just don’t understand what is it that you are doing, dating two women? You never even dated one before” asked Owen

“Well maybe I should have” said Abby “how is my relationship situation any of your concern?” 

“Because you know how I feel for you” said Owen

“Owen, stop” said Abby

“I can be with you, just us, but with them you are like a third wheel or something” said Owen

“How dare you?” Abby felt anger rising inside her.

“Well, only today they kissed you in public but they are all sweet and together without you all the time” said Owen

“That’s because they respect my wishes unlike other people I know,” said Abby. Owen looked at her surprised and hurt. She was trying to achieve that but it still didn’t feel nice. She was thinking of the times he insisted on them doing something else rather than training but he could misinterpret her words, “I mean… you knew training was important… that’s what I mean. And in the case of Ellie and Dina, I asked them to give me time, that I wanted to take things slowly and they accepted it. They wanted us to be public before but they waited for me” 

“I see,” said Owen, “so, you are really doing this… three people relationship thing… then?” 

“I am trying because I like them both” said Abby “at least I am courageous enough to try however hard this is”

Owen looked down and nodded.

“Look” said Abby “I’m sorry… I don’t think you are a bad person, you are a great person, you are kind and compassionate, more than most, despite all the shit that life threw at you but us… you and I… I don’t think it can work a second time”

“How do you know that?” said Owen

“Because… we fucked it up, ok?” said Abby, “I fucked it up, you were not high in my priority list and you made the sane decision to leave me for someone who would give you the attention you needed. It’s done” 

“We can still try” said Owen

“Owen… I am sorry, I am sorry things didn’t work… but we have to let it go” said Abby

Before he could say another thing she walked away and luckily he didn’t insist. She was some steps away when she felt two people flanking her and she didn’t even need to turn to know who they were. Both looked attentive at her and she swallowed nervously despite knowing she hadn’t done anything wrong. 

“Everything alright?” asked Dina, her voice deceivingly even and calm but Abby knew by now that she shouldn’t be fooled into thinking she was fine

“Yes” Abby replied

“Are you sure?” asked Ellie, who was so much worse at keeping the jealousy in her voice at bay 

“Yes, we were just talking” said Abby, “I said that I still want to talk to him”

“And that’s ok… talking I mean,” said Dina “but you have to tell us if you want something else from that man. You said you’ll respect our decision and we will respect yours if you rather leave us for him”

Abby sighed “I’m not leaving you, do you want me to leave you?”

“No” answered Ellie “just be clear with us, dude”

Abby chuckled and looked at her. She looked worried and Abby put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a quick hug “I am clear, I want this” then she turned and looked at Dina, who was still looking at her as if she needed to analyze her to the minutiae, it was unsettling but at the same time flattering in a way having those gorgeous dark eyes so fixated on her. She was thinking about how lovely Dina was and her intense stare made her blush. Seemingly this surprised Dina in a positive way and she smiled at her. Abby tentatively offered her to join the hug and Dina chuckled.

“Come here, stupid” said Dina. Abby and Ellie went to her and they hugged strongly “but remember I’m watching you”

Abby pulled back and looked at her. 

“Oh, Dina, I hope you are,” said Abby arching an eyebrow and making Dina blush now.


	28. Dina

The river they were crossing was luckily frozen but the ice was not thick enough in all the parts so they had to be careful. At one point Dina slipped and fell and both Ellie and Abby almost jumped to get to her. Dina got her knee injured and Abby decided that she had to carry her the rest of the way. Dina initially complained then she realized that this was a chance she shouldn't let go to waste. Why the fuck would she say no to being carried like the goddam princess she was? And by Abby nonetheless. So she stopped being silly and graciously accepted.

Eventually Abby managed to carry Dina all the way to the other side. Ellie, Nora, Lev and Yara got to the other side safely too. Then it seemed like Owen and Mel were having some issues. 

"I'll go and check" said Abby

Dina was about to complain but then she felt ridiculous, Abby had indicated she still wanted to be friends with these people so she had to respect her wishes - even if she sometimes wanted nothing more than to have that guy vanish from the face of the earth. Abby went to them and it seemed Mel had lost something but didn't want to receive help from Owen in searching for it. They discussed for a while then Abby simply yelled at them that she would go back and look for it for Mel, even with Mel protesting. Owen started protesting too but Abby ignored them. She went back and found the bag Mel had lost and was going back to them.

Everything seemed fine one second and the next Dina watched in horror as the ice underneath Abby's feet broke and the lake swallowed her.

A scream so loud erupted near her and it was only seconds later that she realized it had been her who had screamed. Ellie stood up, took a fallen branch and went to her. But she must have known she was too far away and so Ellie yelled at Owen and slid the branch towards him and he caught it. Owen was already near Abby and he laid down and used the branch that Ellie had thrown to him to reach Abby, Abby was still conscious and so she grabbed it and Owen pulled and took her from the hole in the ice. Slowly they moved backwards and Ellie kept her distance. Mel slowly walked towards Ellie and Ellie helped her reach safer ground. Dina looked at Ellie and immediately understood her frustration. Of course Ellie needed to make space, so that the weight in the ice would be less but it was unnerving just staying away and watching as Abby slowly made her way there with Owen.

Eventually they reached ground and Dina and Ellie went to hug her. Ellie had another jacket ready and put it over Abby. 

"Thanks" said Abby shivering

Nora came closer to Abby and observed her with a very worried stare. Nora’s face was full of tears. She must have panicked too.

"We have to find a house and make a fire, fast!" said Yara while Ellie and Dina were doing that.

Lev came back and only then Dina realized he had left.

"There's one cabin near here, let's go there" said Lev

Nora helped Dina walk while Ellie and Owen helped Abby who was wet and shivering. They got to the house and set a fire. Ellie helped Abby get new clothes, Yara and the other had carried some they had found and so they gave them to Abby. Nora checked Abby's state and said she was luckily not so long in frozen water.

“We still need to keep you warm, I’ll be checking on you often” said Nora

“I’m ok,” said Abby

“Luckily you seem to be ok” said Nora “you fucking scared me there, Abby” 

They made their beds near the fire and both Ellie and Dina made sure Abby was well covered. She fell asleep quite soon and at one point Owen came to check if she was ok. He seemed genuinely worried. 

"She's fine" whispered Dina

"Ok, let me know if she needs anything… or if you need anything" said Owen

"Thank you" said Dina

"Yeah, thanks, and specially for saving her" said Ellie

"No problem" said Owen "I had to, it's Abby after all"

Dina caressed Abby's face as she slept. 

"I think the pain I felt when I thought we lost her… it was the most horrific thing I felt in my life" said Dina

"Me too, I thought I lacked air" said Ellie "I was so afraid" 

Dina looked at Ellie and they both understood at that moment that whatever they felt for her, it wasn't just something one could describe as "liking" anymore.

“Dina” said Ellie “I love you, I have no doubts about it” 

“I know, I love you too” said Dina

"But” said Ellie and looked at Abby. 

Dina saw how painful it all seemed to be for Ellie. She felt it too, that she would have lost a part of herself had Abby died.

“What are we going to do?" asked Ellie helplessly

Dina gave a deep sigh.

"Well… when we watched that porn" Dina smiled and Ellie chuckled "it looked like fun and all but it's not reality"

Dina remembered that night and how heavy with sexual tension the atmosphere had been between Ellie and her. Ellie smiled at her with a nostalgic stare.

“I mean…” Dina chuckled “I always thought their  _ stories _ , the ones in the porn movies, are so bad I had to invent some others in my head. Make them more juicy, you know? I imagined all sorts of situation where these three meet and how they got it off, how they liked each other but I guess I never thought much about love among three people”

“Really?” said Ellie smiling “maybe you should start writing movies and we should try and find a camera and make our own Dina movies”

“I’ll think about it” said Dina “but going back to our topic… the thing is… when we started this with Abby we already loved each other… and I still feel strongly about you but… this with Abby, it was not probably going to stay like it was forever, it was not going to be something that we just like her and we love each other… maybe it would have but I think it is not going that way”

“Yeah” said Ellie “I don’t think it is and I am unsure about what it means… I don’t want to lose you”

“Good” said Dina “I don’t want to lose you either”

“Then what do we do?” asked Ellie

“I guess… we will have to see” said Dina “we both felt this for her, we both liked her at the same time and I guess we both realize that this is becoming stronger now”

“But… do we tell her… now?” said Ellie “she barely accepted to be kissed in public… I don’t want to freak her out… I don’t want to fuck this up”

“I think that eventually we will have to tell her but maybe we wait?” suggested Dina “as you said… she is just now getting used to PDAs, and I don’t mean culture media here”

Ellie laughed.

“I guess you are right,” said Ellie.

Ellie sighed and caressed Abby’s hair.

“We wait then” said Ellie “to tell her how we feel”

“Yeah, I don’t think saying  _ I'm falling in love with you _ right now is a good idea, she needs some time” said Dina

“Wow, I never thought that I would feel this myself about someone you wanted to say that to” admitted Ellie “I would have thought I would have wanted to die or something”

“I can understand that” said Dina “I wasn’t even able to talk to you when you started dating Cat”

“Oh no, really?” said Ellie

“Yeah, she was your first girlfriend right?” asked Dina

“Uhm” said Ellie and touched her fingers nervously “I guess…”

Dina narrowed her eyes.

“She wasn’t?” asked Dina

“Well, at 13… I kissed this friend of mine, Riley..” said Ellie then whispered “remember what I told you about being bitten?”

Dina nodded

“I wasn’t alone, there was this friend and she also got bitten… we thought that we would die and so we waited together, to die together I guess… but then in my case that never happened”

“Oh Ellie” said Dina “that sound like a terrible moment for a first kiss, I am sorry the memory isn’t happier”

“No… I mean of course I am sad she died but… at least I did tell her I liked her” said Ellie

“Yeah, you did” said Dina “you are pretty brave”

Ellie smiled and then came closer to Dina until their foreheads were touching. Then they kissed for a while and after that they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> recently I made a tumblr account, it's alex-lest-writes  
> In case someone is there too, I'll try to put update of my work there too


	29. Ellie

The first thing Ellie did when she woke up was to make sure Abby didn’t have a fever or that she was breathing normally. She had the feeling that she was slightly warmer so she quietly went to get Nora.

“Hey” said Ellie

“What’s going on?” asked Nora, still sleepy

“I think she has a fever, can you please check it out, maybe I’m wrong, maybe that is her normal temperature, maybe she just got a cold-” said Ellie

“Let’s go and check” said Nora, interrupting her.

Nora went to Abby and started checking her. 

“I think it must be because you guy overdid it with the blankets” said Nora and chuckled “you really care about her, don’t you?”

Ellie just stared at her and bit her lips.

“Are you sure it’s just that? Can you check?” asked Ellie

“Of course I’ll check” said Nora “She’s my friend”

That must have woken Abby up because she opened her eyes.

“Oh, good morning” said Abby to Nora and Ellie.

“Hey” said Ellie affectionately as she gave a brief kiss to Abby and caressed her face “how are you?”

“Alive” joked Abby 

Nora chuckled but Ellie was still very worried. Abby looked at her and shook her head

“Come on, don’t be so worried, I’m ok,” said Abby

She looked around and saw that Dina was also waking up. Dina smiled at her then she smiled at Ellie and gave her a kiss.

“Hey” said Dina to both

“Good morning, how is your foot?” asked Abby

“I think it is getting better”, said Dina and kissed Abby “I think you look better today, I’m glad” 

Abby then looked at Nora “can you check her foot please?”

“No, first you” insisted Dina

Abby rolled her eyes

“I’m sorry Abby, but your girl is right, I’ll check you first” said Nora

“Fine” said Abby

“I’ll bring something to eat” said Ellie and went to check 

She grabbed some of the food they had in their backpack and realized that all the clothes and things from Abby’s backpack were hanging around to dry. 

“Nice, I don’t remember doing this” said Ellie to her own self

“That’s because I did it” said Owen

“Oh” said Ellie and turned around.

Owen was standing next to her, also about to check for food it seemed.

“Thanks” said Ellie “for that and for saving Abby”

“I was not going to let her drown” said Owen offended

“I know… I mean now I know” said Ellie “listen, I know we got in the wrong foot but maybe Abby is right, maybe you are a good guy”

“She said that?” said Owen hopeful

“Easy there, she didn’t say she is in love, just that you are a nice guy” said Ellie, still somewhat resentful of him

“I know” said Owen “just happy she still speaks somewhat nicely of me” 

“She does,” said Ellie. 

“Can I… ask you something?” said Owen

“Shoot” said Ellie shrugging

“Your relationship… it is already unusual and you already have Dina” said Owen

“Yeah, so?” asked Ellie

“Would you…?” said Owen and started thinking and then sighed “I don't even know how to ask for this… but… don’t you think that is too much work, two people? Weren’t you happy with Dina already?” 

“I don’t understand how that is any of your business” said Ellie

“It is because… I think there would be a chance for me to still be part of Abby’s life” said Owen

“As a friend?” asked Ellie

“Well, in part yes but… I was thinking of something… more” said Owen

Ellie felt she was ready to murder this dude. Her hand even tensed over a knife but she looked to the other side and tried to calm her nerves. Nora and the others still liked this guy and he was going to be a father. There was already enough murder attempts in this group what with Abby almost killing Joel. They would probably never recover if she murdered this asshole here.

“I’m not saying that you need to answer to this now, and I am not saying that you have the last say anyway, the last say is from Abby but… just saying if you could think about it” said Owen

“Why the fuck would you ask something like this? Aren’t you and doctor mega bitch together?” asked Ellie

“First of all, her name is Mel and no, we are not anymore. We plan to raise this kid together but not being together like that” said Owen

“And you think you have a shot at fucking things up with Abby again?” asked Ellie with venom in her voice 

“No, I think I still love her and I think she at least cares about me enough” said Owen “and I want another chance”

Ellie was making an amazing effort not to strangle this man. She really did not want to have this conversation right now. She looked at him and held a glass of juice with so much tension that she was about to break it. Losing her patience, she crashed it against the wall and broke it. She instinctively held a piece of the glass that remained in her hand as a weapon and was about to insert it in his face when Owen gave several steps backwards.

“Is everything alright there?” asked Yara from where she was sitting 

“Yeah, everything’s fine” said Owen as he gave more steps, then in a lower voice talked to Ellie. He was careful, as if addressing a wild animal “I said what I wanted to say and now I will leave you guys alone”

Owen grabbed some food and took it to Mel and the kids. They thanked him but Lev noticed how Ellie was looking at Owen and came to her.

“Are you ok?” asked Lev

Ellie sighed furiously and then looked at the food. She had lost her appetite but she needed to take something to Dina and Abby at least.

“Not really” said Ellie “but I will be soon”

“I think you injured your hand” said Lev “here, let me help”

“Oh” said Ellie and only now noticed her hand was bleeding

Lev helped her remove the pieces of glass from Ellie’s hand and he bandaged her hand.

“Thanks” said Ellie "I should probably pick up this mess" 

Ellie kneeled and tried to pick the pieces of glass. She didn't need Dina or Abby getting hurt by this. Lev started helping her and soon they had cleaned it all so they stood up.

“What happened?” asked Lev, “did he say something awkward?”

“Ugh” said Ellie “he’s just infuriating and not in a good way, so stubborn” 

“Dina said you can be infuriating too” said Lev

Ellie looked at him.

“Well I can be but he is worse” said Ellie “anyway, don’t worry about it… I have to take this to them”

“Need help?” asked Lev

“Sure” said Ellie

Lev helped her take the food to Dina, Abby and Nora and they ate. Ellie was happy that Dina could eat something, she had not puked the day before and she hoped things would get better soon for her but she did not know how the pregnancy could go. 

“What happened?” asked Dina, seeing Ellie’s hand

“Nothing, just broke a glass by accident” said Ellie

“That didn’t look like an accident” said Abby, looking at her with mistrust

“It’s ok, nothing you should worry about, just focus on recovering, ok?” said Ellie dismissively

“If you say so...” said Abby “you would tell us if something happens, I hope”

Ellie swallowed, looked elsewhere and gave a brief nod, lying terribly, almost as bad as Abby. Nora scratched her neck uncomfortably while both Dina and Abby were staring at her intensively but luckily a distraction came in the shape of Lev.

“I’m glad you are ok, Yara and I were worried” said Lev

“I’m ok, kid” said Abby and smiled at him “can’t take me down that easily”

“What is that you went after?” asked Lev

“Mel had accidentally dropped a bag she had and it seems like it had important stuff. Owen wanted to help her look for it but she refused and they stood there fighting for a while” said Abby “I went for it and found it and then it just happened… guess I shouldn’t have tried to get involved in their stuff, haven’t learned my lesson yet… anyway, I lost it when I fell ”

“I’m sure Mel will understand” said Lev

“Sure she will” said Abby doubtfully “failed her again, what else is new?”

“You tried, it’s fine” said Nora “I’m just glad you survived and anyone else here feels the same”

“Yeah and if not fuck them” said Ellie “you are awfully nice to her despite all”

“She is not a bad person, she’s just angry” said Nora

“And she has reasons to” said Abby

Ellie was about to complain but Dina stopped her

“We are happy you are alive, really happy and honestly you should maybe not think so much about how Mel thinks about you?” suggested Dina “perhaps with time you two can be more friendly, now things are too heated”

“I don’t think they are, it’s quite cold outside” said Lev

“I didn’t mean it literally, it’s an expression” explained Dina

“Your way of talking is quite confusing” commented Lev

“I know, hope you get used to it” said Ellie

“Me too, talking with you all is strange sometimes” admitted Lev

“Ok” said Nora after finishing checking on Dina “I think she is maybe going to be fine to walk tomorrow, we are going to have to stay put or someone will have to carry her if we want to advance”

“I can do that” said Abby

“Hold your horses” said Nora

Lev looked around

“What horses?” then he looked at how they were looking at him and sighed “oh, another of your  _ expressions _ ”

“Yup” said Nora “anyway, as I was saying, I think Abby also needs to rest so we are going to have to stay put for today”

“But I am fine” insisted Abby

“Nope, we are staying, doctor’s orders, don’t even think about trying anything funny” said Ellie adamantly

“You are not moving and if you try I’ll tie you like a wild animal” said Dina and pointed her finger at Abby

“Ok, ok, no need for threats” said Abby and chuckled

“Your girls may be extreme but they are right, you need to rest today, so chill” said Nora

“I’ll chill” said Abby but she sounded unconvincing.

“Don’t try me, Abby, I have ropes” said Dina

“I won’t, I swear” said Abby and laughed “you are cute when you are threatening people, you know?”

Dina blushed and it was beautiful.

“Don’t trust the cuteness, it’s how she gets you” whispered Ellie to Abby

Abby nodded.

“I can imagine” whispered Abby to Ellie

“Don’t you too start planning weird things” said Dina

“Wouldn’t dream of it” said Ellie “I’m just saying you are awesome”

Dina blushed more but looked at them with mistrust.

“Anyway, I should go and hunt or collect something” said Ellie standing up

“I’ll go with you” said Lev

“Sure,” said Ellie. 

She kissed Abby and then Dina and said “see you soon”

Lev and Ellie went to grab their backpacks and bows and when they were already at the door they saw that Owen had followed them.

“No” said Ellie

“I can help” said Owen

Ellie narrowed her eyes at him.

“It’s better to have more people going with us” suggested Lev

Ellie sighed.

“Fine, but I still don’t like you” said Ellie and left “so try to not be a burden”

“I’ll do my best” said Owen


	30. Abby

Abby thought she would be bored to tears staying there and not being out there with Ellie hunting but it actually was quite nice despite Mel’s presence. She was surprised to see how Ellie accepted that Owen would join her. She had the impression that she somehow was angrier at him now than before. Abby didn’t know how she felt towards Owen at the moment. She was definitely thankful that he had saved her, she thought she was done for when she fell in the ice. After surviving all that she did she was going to die in a lake. But then she didn’t thanks to Ellie - she later found out about Ellie and her throwing that branch at him - and Owen. She still hadn’t had a chance to talk to him but she knew she wanted to thank him for what he did.

And then there was Dina and Ellie’s conversation. She was partly asleep and was about to talk when she was waking up but then she heard what they were saying and she just quietly remained there. So they felt it too, she wasn’t fucked! She was relieved, happy, scared, and excited. She wanted to tell them how she felt too but she was unsure about how to do that. She was not the type of person who could just go ahead and tell someone how she felt. Maybe if the moment arose she could just say it in a rush, like someone who removes a bandage fast. Be done with it. But she was also curious about how Dina and Ellie would go about it, see what they would say and when.

Nora told her more about how they survived and was a bit too flirty with Dina, who was the master of flirtiness, and that annoyed Abby slightly. 

“So, when did you realize you were a goner for this one?” asked Nora

Dina looked at her and smiled. God, that was a beautiful sight.

“I think both Ellie and I couldn’t help it the moment we started talking about things other than her murderous intents” said Dina “I guess I should have suspected it the moment Ellie started calling her She-ra”

“What?” asked Nora laughing “Are you kidding me? Like the comic character?” 

“Since when do you read comics?” asked Abby to Nora

“I had an infancy, you know” complained Nora

“Well, I have to admit I read it later in life… Ellie’s influence” said Dina

Abby chuckled.

“Don’t smile that much, She-ra, she’s totally going to make you read that until you can recite the story in your dreams” said Dina

“I’m not reading that” said Abby

“Oh you will, and will listen to her discs too, otherwise I doubt she will ever sing to you” said Dina

“Ellie sings?” asked Abby

“She does and plays the guitar too” said Dina

Abby imagined herself sitting while Ellie sang and played the guitar and felt herself melt at the thought. 

“I want to learn” said Yara “to play the guitar”

“I’m sure something can be arranged” said Dina “maybe Joel can teach you”

Abby’s smile faded. True, he was still in the picture. Abby sighed. 

“I’m gonna have to apologize to that guy, aren’t I?” said Abby

Mel looked at her as if she had proposed to climb a mountain or anything further removed from her personality.

“I don’t know, babe” said Dina “from the few times we discussed with Ellie I got the feeling he is not sorry so maybe you shouldn’t be either”

“Are you sure?” asked Abby confused

“I mean, only if you truly feel like it” said Dina “there’s no point in fake apologies”

“But he is important for Ellie” said Abby “she probably wants to hang out with him. I know I would like to be with my dad if he were alive”

“Maybe you keep your distance and if you are ever ready for that you do it. I’m sure Ellie can understand it” said Dina

“I don’t want to be the reason for her to have a hard time in that aspect… I already almost caused her to lose him… it would suck if I cause her to not even have a relationship with him” said Abby

“Don’t worry about it,” said Dina and caressed her back.

Abby looked at Dina and gave her a small smile.

“I think if I could, I would also want to be around mom, if she were alive” said Yara "but she would have killed Lev so…"

"You are conflicted about how you feel about her" said Dina

"Yes" said Yara

"Regardless of how they were, you are entitled to be nostalgic about your relatives" said Nora "you need to process things at your own pace" 

Nora suddenly rose and went to Mel. She massaged her back and gave her a bucket. Mel shook her head and laid back in bed. 

“Do you need water?” asked Yara and went to get it for Mel.

“How are you feeling in that regard? No more dizziness?” asked Abby to Dina

“Not today again, I guess soon they will come back, I don’t know” said Dina "anyway, we should check where should we go"

She then took a map and started looking at their options.

“I guess we can go through here and avoid that river, in here there should be a bridge” said Dina

“Oh, god, no more bridges” said Abby and put a hand in her face “I think I am going to puke now”

“If you fall, we’ll catch you, not going to let you out of my sight” said Dina reassuringly “we had too many close calls with you already”

“I can say the same about you and Ellie except that I just don’t get how you are so comfortable in those heights” said Abby

“Everyone has different fears” said Yara

“Yeah, I know, Lev mentioned something about his" said Abby

"Did he tell you?" asked Yara, intrigued

"Yes" said Dina

“Wow, he really told you that?” said Yara surprised "I'm afraid of dogs too"

“But he like cats, doesn’t he?” said Dina

“I think he would like to have cats” said Yara

“I had two, years ago" said Dina "there's dogs in Jackson too, I know you don't like them but maybe if you see how nice some of them can be then you can get used to them"

"I had some dogs back in Seattle" said Abby "I miss them and I think if you give dogs a chance they can be quite nice"

"Oh" said Yara doubtfully "I'll think about it"

"I guess the experience with the wolves and or dogs might have influenced your feelings about them" said Nora "we did use them against sc… I mean Seraphites" 

Yara nodded in approval of Nora's effort to correct herself. 

"True, I guess that's reason enough to fear them" said Abby and stood up.

"What are you doing?" asked Nora

"I need to stretch" said Abby

"You know, on the first time I saw her awake, she was doing that" whispered Dina to Nora "she gave me quite the view"

Nora chuckled

"I can hear you" said Abby and blushed at the memory.

"She does have a nice ass" whispered Dina

"Oh, I feel you" said Nora

"What are you two whispering about there?" asked Yara

"We're just playing my favourite sport: teasing Abby," said Dina.

However after saying that Dina paled. Abby immediately came to her side. 

"Are you ok?" asked Abby

"I just feel dizzy" said Dina "I think I'm going to go outside, maybe fresh air will help"

"I'll go with you" offered Yara

"No, I'll go" said Abby

"No, you are staying, and don't even try to contradict me" said Dina

"Ok, are you sure?" asked Abby

"Completely" said Dina "well be back soon"

Dina caressed Abby's face and stood up with Abby's help. Yara and Dina put jackets on and went outside for a walk.

Mel was scribing something in a notebook and Nora went to check on her after she checked on Abby.

"What are you doing?" asked Nora

"Just… brainstorming, if we do find this immune girl, I want to have some ideas ready to try and explore. There has to be a way even with few resources" said Mel "I remember reading years ago how some scientists did experiments in their basements and still managed to make important discoveries"

"I read that book, and I agree, there has to be something we can do" said Nora "let me help"

Mel and Nora discussed for a while and Abby only then remembered her book. She imagined it must be completely ruined. Then she noticed it was near the fire. So she went to pick it up and noticed someone had taken the time to separate the pages with wood sticks, twigs and other things, so despite being in a strange shape the book was still readable. She was surprised to notice that even the drawing Ellie had made of Abby had survived and had been put to dry. She removed all the twigs and threw them to the fire.

Whoever did this was very careful. She saved the drawing in her backpack then she took the book and wondered who had done this. She needed to find out later and thank them. For now she sat again and continued reading. After a while she wondered where Dina and Yara were. She started to put a jacket on when Nora saw what she was going.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" said Nora

"I'm just going to look for Dina and Yara, I think they have been out for too long" said Abby

"No, you stay, I'll go for them" said Nora

"But-" said Abby

"No, Abigail, you stay" said Nora sternly and grabbed a jacket.

Abby observed her in frustration but obeyed.

When Nora left Abby decided it was best to go back to her book. 

"So, Owen's idea worked" said Mel

"What?" asked Abby

"He did that" said Mel pointing at the book "and took all your clothes and put them to dry, and also made sure to put your coins in order"

Abby was surprised but wary. Why would he do that? 

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Abby

"You know that when you fell, Dina screamed as if she was dying, Ellie went to Owen and threw him the branch to help you and took me away from the ice. But I don't think she did it because she wanted to help me but because she wanted to make sure I wasn't in the way for when Owen saved you" said Mel

"It's not like that, Ellie is a good person" said Abby

"Maybe…" said Mel 

"She is" insisted Abby

"You don't fool me" said Mel

"What do you mean" said Abby

"Owen and Ellie might fall for your act with the kids and your sudden repentance but not me" said Mel "it's a pity you are running so many people at the same time, Dina and Ellie… they do care for you, even Owen… but you only care about yourself" 

Abby felt tears coming to her eyes and she commanded herself not to cry.

"I know I haven't always done the right thing but I am not pretending here" said Abby

"You are a piece of shit Abby, you always were" yelled Mel

Abby looked down and felt the tears were about to fall but she tried harder to hold them in place. 

"I'm going to Jackson and I'll work on a cure but while I'm there I hope I can be as far away as possible from you. You wanna do right by the kids and those girls? Then you should try and remove yourself from the lives before you fuck them up too" said Mel

She stood up and went to another room.

"Can't even stand to look at you now" said Mel

Abby stood up, kicked at some tables that were there, faced the wall and cried. Then she heard someone coming to the house.

"Doctor mega bitch, can you stop abusing my girl?" said Dina

_ Fuck,  _ thought Abby and tried to clean her face from tears. 

"Abusing your girl? Are you serious, do you truly believe she gives a fuck about you?" said Mel "she came here to murder Joel, she'll probably finish the job once she's back and then escape with Owen" 

"Mel, that's not true" said Nora

"I can't believe she's suddenly sorry when a few days ago she was about to murder Joel with a golf club" said Mel "I still have nightmares about it. And then she goes and kisses Owen, she obviously doesn't care about you, wake up and realize that"

"Hey, I believe her" said Dina "and you have a right to be angry about that but your issue is more with Owen than with her so leave us alone, and about Joel and her, she let it go. Believe whatever you want but she did so stop pestering her about it"

"You are so delusional" said Mel mockingly

"Mel…" said Nora

"That's my fucking problem so stay out of it." said Dina "I don't want to hear you saying shit to her or Ellie again, do you hear me?" 

Mel chuckled but then Abby heard some commotion. She was still trying to stop her tears so she didn't want to go there.

"Dina, wait" said Yara

"Stop it" said Nora

"Do you fucking hear me?" yelled Dina

"Yes" said Mel

"Good" said Dina

After that Dina entered the room where Abby was and came to her.

"Sorry babe" said Dina and went to hug her

"What happened?" asked Abby

"You were being loud so we heard the conversation, at least the part where she called you… that…. as we were coming in and Dina confronted Mel. Dina then put Mel in a lock until she agreed to let you be. Nora went to talk with Mel" said Yara

Dina pulled back and looked at Abby's face. She caressed Abby's cheek and dried a tear. 

"Sorry" said Abby as she tried to rub her face

"She's wrong, you know?" said Yara

"You don't know me" said Abby

"I know enough," said Yara.

Abby looked down. She felt she didn't deserve that trust.

"What she's saying isn't true" said Dina "we know that, don't let her get to you"

Abby noded but didn't look at Dina's eyes. Dina grabbed her chin with one hand and moved it up a bit.

"Hey, look at me" said Dina

Abby obeyed.

"I believe you" said Dina with a tender voice

Abby smiled at Dina and gave her a small kiss. Abby had no doubt that her friendship with Mel was now beyond repair but she was so grateful at what Dina said that it almost didn't hurt as much anymore.

  
  



	31. Ellie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone reading and commenting, I still can’t believe how many people like this, I am humbled and amazed. Thank you!

This time they got more canned food and more wild animals. They met with a couple of infected but not the horde of the last time. They met a bloater inside a house they went to check on for canned food but could get rid of it.

"There seem to be less forms of demons here" said Lev

"And then you complain about us speaking weirdly" said Ellie

"He's right though" said Owen "you don't seem to have Shamblers" 

"What are those?" asked Ellie

"It's like bloaters but they throw acid" said Owen

"That sounds terrifying" said Ellie

"Yeah, there's rumors that down at the hospital there can be worse things even" said Owen

"Wow, fuck Seattle" said Ellie "your place sucks" 

"I'm also glad to not be there anymore" said Lev

They went to a pharmacy and grabbed more bandages and compressed to heat up for Dina's back. Then she grabbed others and gave them to Owen.

"Here, give it to Mel" said Ellie

Owen looked at it and doubted for a while.

"The child is still yours isn't it? You need to at least be a bit helpful" said Ellie

"I know" said Owen and grabbed it "I'm just not sure she'll accept this from me. She'll probably throw them in the fire"

"She won't, she needs it too" said Lev

"I hope you are right" said Owen

Ellie went ahead and checked for more spots and then she felt that someone was behind her. She sighed when she felt his eyes intensively fixated on her. This guy was probably going to be a burden after all.

"What do you want?" asked Ellie tersely

"I was wondering if you thought about what I said" asked Owen

"Seriously?" said Ellie and turned around

"It's important" said Owen

"You know what's important? To survive until we get to Jackson and if you keep asking me this your chances are severely compromised, dude" said Ellie. 

Her patience was wearing thin, she was tired of this guy

"Dude" said Owen and thought about it "that had to be better than Shaggy"

"It's not" deadpanned Ellie "now stop pestering me and let's go before I change my mind and murder you here"

“Your sense of humor is… peculiar” commented Owen

“I wasn’t joking, dude” explained Ellie. She wasn’t looking at him but she realized he was shocked at that.

“Uhm, yes you are” said Owen

Ellie turned her face and looked at him over her shoulder.

“Are you sure you want to find out?” asked Ellie with a menacing voice and slowly turned to face him with a deadly stare. She was twirling her switchblade in her hand, clearly displaying to him she could still use it against him at any given time. That finally shut him up. She wasn’t really going to kill him but if he kept insisting on his bullshit the idea of gutting him there and pretending it was some infected’s fault was becoming very tempting. 

No one would notice if she did. They were alone. And for a brief moment Ellie was seriously considering what would happen if she did. She shivered when she noticed what she was thinking about. Murdering someone over something so minimal was not something Dina or Abby would ever forgive her doing. She herself couldn't deprive the child they were expecting with Mel from a father. Ellie had been given a second chance with Joel, perhaps she should try to remember that even if this guy was too annoying. Besides, she was almost completely sure that Abby reciprocated her feelings, it wasn’t just Dina and Ellie feeling this, she hoped at least Abby did. She sighed and tried to stay away from Shaggy or at least not being alone with him, just to avoid the temptation of inserting her knife in his face.

Eventually they had enough things and went back. The people in the cabin were in a very strange mood. Mel and Nora were in another room discussing something technical and Yara, Dina and Abby were in the main fire room. It seemed Dina was trying to cheer Abby up. So Ellie went to them while Owen went to Mel and Nora. Lev went to talk to Yara about what he had seen outside and other things.

Dina told her the reason for that strange mood while Abby tried to dismiss what had happened.

"I'm sorry babe, you know that we don't think like that, do you?" said Ellie to Abby

"It's ok, she's just angry, not a big deal" said Abby lying terribly

"But you still care about her" said Dina "I understand it's painful"

"Don't worry about me" said Abby "instead, tell me if you feel better"

"What happened?" asked Ellie

"Just had to go out for a while, felt dizzy and the cold air helped" said Dina

"You were gone for a long time" said Abby

"Aww, you missed me?" teased Dina

"Of course" said Abby

"What about me?" asked Ellie jokingly "didn't you miss me?" 

"You know I did" said Abby "is just weird not doing more to help, having to rest" 

"Well, gotta be patient" said Ellie "tomorrow we'll go so you better rest today" 

"I'm trying, it's just so boring" said Abby

Ellie kissed Abby's cheek and whispered in her ear.

"Sorry babe, can't offer you more exciting things now that there are children here" whispered Ellie

"I didn't mean that" said Abby chuckling softly

Dina kissed Ellie's cheek and came closer so only Abby and Ellie could hear. 

"As soon as I'm feeling better and we're in a more private place we can make things more interesting again" whispered Dina while looking at Abby.

"You two are terrible" joked Abby and bit her lips

"But you love us anyway, don't you?" joked Ellie

Abby blinked and seemed surprised. It had probably slipped, it wasn't something Ellie really wanted to say this soon but it just happened. Abby seemed embarrassed and confused but Dina came to the rescue.

"So, what did you hunt?" asked Dina

"Some rabbits, we also brought bandages and this for you" said Ellie and gave Dina the hot compresses for back pain.

"Thanks, this is useful" said Dina "now let me tell you the plan for tomorrow"

Dina explained the idea. Later they ate and then they slept. Ellie would have wanted to know what Abby thought but she imagined that maybe Abby needed time. On top of that Ellie herself had not really told her what she felt yet so she tried to not be disappointed by Abby's reaction. 

The following day they left the cabin and followed the path marked by Dina. They fought a couple of infected here and there but since Yara and Nora were already in better shape they managed quite well. There was a lot of snow but it was soft and not slippery. They were walking next to the other because there were not many trees in the way.

"This is so odd" said Dina at one point

"What?" asked Ellie

"In the map this area was supposed to be a town" said Dina

"Maybe it was destroyed" said Nora

"Perhaps" said Dina

"This here" said Lev looking down "it made a strange noise" 

"Maybe come here" said Yara "I don't like that sound"

Lev nodded but then he stopped walking.

"In here too" said Lev looking down. Then he tried moving to the side "maybe I should-" 

The floor gave in and Lev fell. Ellie was the one nearer to him and so she went to look. To her surprise she saw that there was a construction underneath. It seemed the snow had hidden a structure, that underneath seemed to be either a house or a basement. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Ellie could see that the place was filled with spores. 

"Lev?" called Ellie and received no human reply. Instead she heard many infected.

_Fuck_ , thought Ellie, the others were too far away.

Yara came to her side and was about to jump.

"No" Ellie stopped her "there's spores" 

Yara's face filled with tears.

"No… Lev" said Yara "Lev is there, I have to go get him"

Abby was coming and looking for a mask but before she could put it on Ellie said to Yara.

"Don't worry, I'll get them" said Ellie and jumped.

"Ellie!" screamed Abby and Dina but Ellie was already down there.

She fell on some tables but she was fine. She looked around and a striker came to her but she killed it with a machete. Those were difficult to kill and she found a couple of them there. Then she heard a growl and to her right a bloater came and she ran. She left some bombs on the way and blew the thing to pieces. Then runners also came and she threw a molotov and shot at them while running. Finally she saw Lev fighting infected and went to help him. They killed more infected and then Ellie and he went to the hole in the ceiling and asked the others to throw a rope.

Abby did that and helped them climb out.

"What the fuck, Ellie?" asked Abby

"That was so fast, are you ok?" asked Dina and hugged her

"I'm fine" said Ellie

Yara went to see her brother. Abby also went to check on Lev. Mel, Nora and Owen were near but looked at Lev as if he was dead already, which he probably was.

"Are you suicidal?" asked Nora to Ellie "why did you go after him without a mask?"

"I…." said Ellie and suddenly she felt tired, "it's me, I'm the immune girl. I'm the person Joel did all that shit for" 

Nora's eyes widened and she nodded. Mel covered her mouth with her hand and Owen blinked. 

"I see" said Nora "that's why Abby insisted on a cure that would not kill the host"

"Did you hold your breath down there? How are you not coughing?" asked Abby to Lev, observing him with worried and curious eyes.

Abby looked at Lev and only after hearing that did Ellie realize Lev wasn't coughing. He hadn't coughed down there either. Ellie had done everything in a rush and had not thought much about it and only now realized how strange that was.

"That's true, you aren't coughing" said Ellie to Lev

They all remained silent for a while, observing at Lev. Lev seemed confused but then he looked at Ellie. 

"Is this a miracle?" asked Lev

"No" said Ellie "maybe… maybe Joel was right" 

"What do you mean?" asked Nora

"He lied to me… said there were others, other people… maybe you… you are like me?" asked Ellie

Nora gasped and looked at Lev.

"Is it really possible?" asked Nora "how could one not have known?"

"Well, you were never bitten, or exposed to spores like these before, were you?" asked Ellie

Lev shook his head.

"So, you couldn't have known" said Ellie

"But then…" said Mel "this could mean there are others out there and they don't know" 

"And then we could try to identify them instead" said Nora "with more samples there can be other options"

"Yes" said Yara and went to hug Lev "I'm so glad you aren't going to die"

"Me too" said Lev, still not able to absorb what happened

"This is incredible," said Owen.

Abby smiled at Lev and Yara. She hugged then both and seemed unable to say much from the emotion.

"I can't believe our luck" said Yara after she had hugged her brother

"Don't celebrate just yet, I mean this is awesome but we have to make sure no one else falls down there or down other house or basement here" said Dina

"True" said Abby "we have to be careful"

They decided to tie each other with ropes and advanced carefully. For now they had been lucky but they still believed the worse was not behind them yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in the game we don't know if Lev is immune but I'm playing with the idea of there being immune people that aren't aware of it just yet, and I since this is my fic I wanted him to be immune so… there you go


	32. Dina

When Ellie said there were spores down there and realized no one was going to make it in time, Dina knew. She just knew that Ellie was going to jump and reveal like that the reality of her immunity. So she tried to prepare herself to stop anyone from shooting at her. In actuality they had all been so shocked at the possibility of Lev dying that no one had even tried to shoot at her. They were looking at the recently rescued as dead already, mourning him and Ellie before they were truly dead. No one had expected to find out that these two people were actually immune. After the initial shock and the happiness of what it all meant had faded, they continued walking until they saw a house and went there to rest. They cleaned it from infected and then came inside and blocked all the entrances. There were three rooms, so Ellie, Dina and Abby went to one, Nora and Mel to another, and Owen, Yara and Lev to another. 

They just finished preparing everything to sleep when Dina turned to look at Ellie.

"I thought we were going to wait to say this" said Dina reproachfully

Ellie sighed.

"I know, babe, but… he fell and I had to rescue him" said Ellie

"I'm actually grateful" said Abby "I know the agreement but thanks to her quick response Lev is alive" 

"I know… I was just worried they would want to shoot at Ellie" said Dina "I'm glad we're all safe but please be more careful, don't just throw your life away like that" 

"I won't" said Ellie "promise"

Ellie came closer to Dina and hugged her then kissed her. 

"You better keep that promise, not going to leave you of the hook just because you are being cute now" said Dina, still somewhat upset

"Although I'm thankful" said Abby but gave Ellie a pained stare "I gotta say I understand Dina too, I wish you would be more careful" 

"Ok, I will, I already promised, didn't I?" said Ellie chuckling "what's gotten into you?"

Abby bit her lip and looked at Ellie then at Dina

"Ok… the thing is… I don't think…" Abby paused and sighed "Let me try again" 

She pressed her lips, then bit her lower lip nervously and looked down. Dina and Ellie looked at her and it seemed that both were holding their breath. 

"What I'm trying to say is" said Abby. She scratched her forehead and put a hand in her face. "Ugh" complained Abby looking to the side

Ellie was close to losing her two fingers because she was pulling at them so much from the nervousness.

"You were right" said Abby to Dina and opened her hands

Ellie and Dina looked at Abby and then at each other with a puzzled stare.

"What?" asked Ellie, completely lost

"The other day when you said… that" said Abby

"When she said what?" asked Dina

“Are you really going to make me say it?” complained Abby

“Of course, we have no idea what you mean” lied Dina and unlike these two idiots she could actually pull that off. So, although she knew perfectly well what Abby meant, she insisted, “the other day when Ellie said what?”

"When you said that despite you two being terrible I love you" said Abby and turned scarlet red. She sighed again and then continued, her voice becoming lower and lower "Because I am actually… falling in love"

Dina sighed, relieved and happier than ever. She smiled and kissed Abby. She pulled back and gave space for Ellie who went also for a kiss then they hugged her. 

"We feel the same" said Dina

"We were just thinking we didn't know when to tell you" confessed Ellie

Abby was surprised but relieved. 

"I'm just glad this doesn't freak you out" said Ellie "I mean… this is new for us too, to feel all this"

"Oh I'm freaked out but I rather you knew and I'm happy you feel this way too" said Abby

"I'm a bit scared too but I believe we can make it" said Dina

Dina caressed Ellie's face with one hand and caressed Abby's neck with the other and she felt Ellie's hand in her back and Abby's in her shoulder. It was definitely something different but Dina felt hopeful.

Abby gave a gentle kiss to Dina, then Ellie kissed Dina. It all started sweetly and calmed. They were just enjoying their company. Slowly though, it became more hungry and desperate. They had not been all together since meeting Abby's friends and it showed. They didn’t want the others to hear them so they tried to do this as quietly as possible, putting pieces of cloth in their mouths as they peaked but at the same time, they kept hitting the walls or floor, desperately searching for a place to hold themselves, anchor themselves as they were receiving attention. It was not easy to do this quietly when their hunger was so deep. 

The next morning Dina had to wake up early and open the door, to go since the nausea required her to go out and maybe even vomit. She found that Mel was there with Nora helping her. After she cleaned herself she turned around and Nora offered her a bottle of water. 

"Thanks," said Dina. Then she looked at Mel "how are you?"

"I'm fine" said Mel dismissively

“Look, I don’t like you either but I can still be a normal, decent human around you, you deserve that and I think I deserve it too. Not mentioning that we need to do that, we need to help each other, to survive” said Dina

Mel looked at her with narrowed eyes and probably considering whether it was possible to win in an argument against her. It seemed she desisted though because she shook her head and sighed.

“Fine,” said Mel “I… Owen told me about Ellie giving him the compresses for back pain… that was nice”

“She can be amazing” commented Dina

Mel seemed to fight with this concept and then she just nodded. She looked at Nora and Nora helped her go in. Nora looked at Dina over her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. She hadn’t even looked at her since Dina had put Mel in a lock so Dina thought that was progress. Dina didn’t really care much about either of them but she knew they were important for Abby so she would rather have an amicable relationship with them if possible.

Satisfied with herself, she came back in. As she opened the door Abby and Ellie were coming to her.

"You ok?" they both asked

"Yeah" Dina answered "let's just go to eat something and leave"

"Wasn't Ellie wearing that yesterday?" asked Lev to Abby

Abby just scoffed and shrugged. 

Ellie nodded, probably not even thinking she should add anymore to that and Lev continued eating. They ate something and then got ready to leave. They were packing when they heard a noise outside. Someone was trying to enter the house. They all grabbed their guns and waited but eventually the noise stopped.

They waited some more and then Ellie and Yara went to check on the windows upstairs. They came down and said they saw no one and heard no infected. They waited some more and nothing happened.

"Maybe they left" whispered Mel "maybe they wanted to use this house and think it's hard to come in and left"

"No," said Ellie "they are probably waiting for us outside" 

"What do we do?" asked Lev "maybe we can leave through the window" 

Dina grabbed her backpack and took out some things and then pulled others from Ellie's. 

"Here" said Dina to Ellie 

Ellie looked at them and nodded. 

"We'll open the doors, throw these smoke bombs and then we run" said Dina

They all nodded and did that. The smoke covered them but they still heard gunshots and so they shot and ran. They threw more smoke bombs and ran to the forest. They were running there when they heard infected following them so they soon found themselves fighting these and running. A clicker almost got Yara but Abby grabbed it and crushed it against another and they kept running. Mel shot at one runner that jumped towards Dina and Ellie shot at another that almost bit Owen. They kept saving each other and shooting at infected and running for a while, until they reached another abandoned house and Dina set some old cars on fire and made them explode. Eventually it seemed they had either eliminated or escaped from all the infected. 

“I think we are in the clear” said Owen, he came near Ellie and said “thank you”

“It’s ok” said Ellie

“We all helped each other, we had to,” said Mel, briefly looking at Dina in the eyes as she said that. Dina gave her a smile,  _ Yes we do,  _ thought Dina. 

Then she heard someone shouting. As she turned she saw someone put a gun on Abby’s face and suddenly they were surrounded. Before she could even reach Dina saw Ellie placing herself in front of Abby.

“NO!” Ellie screamed at the person who was pointing at Abby. Dina recognized that man.

“Ellie..” said Abby

“Shut up, let me deal with them” ordered Ellie, holding her hand in front

“Dina?” said Jesse

Dina saw him and he lowered his gum. Dina immediately shielded Abby too. 

“Don’t shoot” said Dina and held her hands in front of herself “please”

“Ellie, move” said Tommy, going towards Ellie

Ellie looked at him and shook her hand.

“No, don’t kill her, don’t shoot at any of them” yelled Ellie

“Please lower your guns” asked Dina

“We are solving this right here” said Tommy

“No” said Ellie adamantly “if you shoot her I swear you will never see me again!”

“Yes,” said Dina firmly “you shoot, we are gone!” 

Jesse indicated to his people to lower their guns but Tommy persisted.

“I’m not letting this one kill my brother” said Tommy “she lured us and attacked like a fucking coward and you let her escape”

“We can explain” said Ellie

“I don’t care” said Tommy

Jesse came to him and made him lower his gun. Tommy fought him but Ellie came to his aid and she took the gun from Tommy’s hands.

“Calm down” said Jesse “let’s take them back and talk about this”

“Please, Tommy” asked Ellie “we really need to talk” 

Tommy looked furious but in the end he accepted. Abby seemed like she wanted to talk but didn’t really find the words. 

“Come” said Ellie softly to Abby “It’s going to be ok”

Dina placed her hand on Abby’s shoulder and pressed gently, trying to be encouraging. Abby nodded and they all followed Jesse and the others. They went back in an awkward silence and finally reached Jackson.


	33. Abby

When they reached that city, Abby realized she had never seen it in daylight. It was really big and seemed peaceful, as Dina had said. On the way there she was thinking about a million things, what she had planned to do, what she ended up doing, meeting these two, then the escape, the kids, the wine cellar night, the death of her friends, saving Nora, almost dying in the water, Lev and his surprising survival and then now, being shielded by Ellie and Dina. Both were smaller than her, probably weaker physically but still, that gesture was so sweet, so endearing, them facing their own people for her, she just didn’t have a way to explain how much it meant without making a fool of herself in front of everyone here. She needed to wait until they were alone but she had to tell them something about that.

They were all directed to an office and a blond haired woman named Maria looked at them with confused and stern eyes. She talked with Dina and Ellie and they said they wanted a private discussion with Tommy and Maria. Jesse complained but Maria told him to go and fetch Joel. Abby’s insides contorted in pain when she thought about facing that man again. More than anything because she knew now that she was not going to be able to fulfil her initial aim of killing him, something she had sacrificed so much for. 

They waited there until Joel came. When he did he immediately went to hug Ellie.

“Thank God, you are ok” said Joel “you had me worried sick”

“I’m fine, I am not that easy to kill” said Ellie, jokingly

“Why on earth did you go? Why did you two released her?” asked Joel

“That is a bit of a complicated story” said Ellie

“Well, we are here to hear it” said Maria “when Dina contacted us she mentioned 8 people but she did not got the chance to say who it was”

Ellie looked at Dina and then at Abby. She sighed and started talking.

“As you know… I am immune” said Ellie

“Ellie” said Joel alarmed and looking at everyone there.

“They already know, I told them,” said Ellie, gesturing towards Abby’s friends and the kids.

“Why?” asked Joel

“I have my reasons, let me get there” said Ellie

“Ok” said Joel but he looked annoyed

“When we captured Abby, she told us who she was” said Ellie

“We are all former fireflies” said Abby

“We knew this” said Maria “and that you came here to find and kill Joel”

“That was the plan” admitted Abby, looking at Nora, Owen and Mel “we were 8 initially, 4 of my friends died… I wanted to avenge my father”

“And we wanted to avenge our friends” said Nora “and kill the man who destroyed our opportunity to make a vaccine”

Tommy and Joel were ready to shoot at them but Ellie stopped them, shook her head and they waited. 

“But…” Abby said “Ellie and Dina… we talked while they kept me here and…” Abby had to stop. She sighed and tried to remain calm, “They explained… things to me… Years ago, when Ellie arrived at the hospital… my dad tried to convince Marlene to kill this child to make a vaccine, Marlene pleaded because it was a child she knew… but in the end she accepted… we would have done it… we would have killed this unnamed child, whose face we had never even seen because we did not care for her… Marlene and my dad thought it was worth it… but she meant something, she was someone… I can see why...”

Abby couldn’t finish saying that, she just couldn't. Joel looked perplexed. He probably never expected this. Luckily they waited and no one interrupted her.

“Someone very brave once told me… something that made me realize that… this shit you made me go through...” said Abby and looked at Dina. Dina looked at her in the eyes and nodded encouragingly, “I can’t make another go through this. Especially not Ellie” 

She pressed her lips and sighed. This was fucking hard. She put a hand in her forehead. Then nervously she put her hands in her waist. It seemed like Joel wanted to say something so Abby looked at him and interrupted him before he could say anything.

“I'm not saying I'll forgive you, not that you care but I… I'm letting this go” said Abby, closed her eyes and looked down, making her best effort not to cry.

_ I’m sorry dad, I’m sorry Manny, Leah, Jordan, Nick… _ , thought Abby. She had lost so much to this. She felt like a coward, like a useless coward for not avenging her dad but she knew she could not kill this man now, she couldn’t do this to Ellie, it was too late, she was too far gone. Dina was right. Hurting someone as she had been hurt was never in her plans and she couldn’t do this.

Then she heard someone walking towards her. The person stopped right in front of her and then she felt Ellie's hand in her face. Ellie raised her face gently and ever so slightly so that when Abby opened her eyes she saw her eye to eye.

"Thank you" whispered Ellie

Dina was right there by her side. Abby hugged both and melted into them.  _ It’s done _ , thought Abby, she was actually letting this go for real. Neither of them cared for the strange looks Maria, Tommy and Joel were giving them. They just hugged her and Abby managed to let it all go and then felt calm. She pulled back and breathed in and out. It was over. She furiously cleaned her face, some tears have escaped despite her attempts to hold it all in.

“We offered her an alternative to revenge” said Ellie, taking over “go to Seattle and make the cure, with me”

“What? Ellie but they will kill you” said Joel

“No one wants to kill Ellie” said Abby abruptly. 

Joel was taken aback and confused.

“Of course not, the idea was to find an alternative” said Dina

“Their group in Seattle had more resources, and Mel and Nora here, they had worked with Abby’s dad before” said Ellie

“But you are here now, why?” asked Maria

“Although our group is big and powerful, we were fighting with their group” said Nora and looked at Lev and Yara

“We were escaping our people, we broke some rules and they wanted to kill us” said Yara “and we accidentally came close to where these people were packing and heard their group was travelling to Jackson, so we figured that had to be far away, so we hid in their truck. But other Seraphites saw us and they followed them” 

“They followed us and killed our other people… and then Abby, Ellie, Dina and the kids came… I told them we were unsure if Seattle was a place for us… our group could have lost the war and even if it didn’t, the moment they saw these kids they would be killed, our leader is not as forgiving as you seem to be” said Nora to Maria

“So I told them about Dr. Rodriguez, she could help them, maybe working together they could come up with another idea” said Dina. 

Dina looked at Nora and Lev. Nora nodded and started talking.

“On the way here we found out something… unexpected. We” said Nora pointing at Lev “he is immune too”

“What?” said Joel and Maria, incredulous. Tommy was shocked but silent.

“How is it possible, how can you know this?” said Maria

“I fell in a spore filled area” said Lev “I survived and noticed the spores did not affect me”

“Just like me” said Ellie “it was just like me. I saw it”

Joel looked confused and Ellie smiled briefly at him.

“I know you were lying but… now you see, maybe you were right” said Ellie “there are others”

“And we thought it is possible to design a test to find out who is immune, and more immune people represent more samples then it is possible to maybe make a vaccine and not kill anyone” said Nora

“It could be possible, we don’t know, but it could be possible” said Mel, cautiously “I don’t want people here to have their hopes up and then find out this is not a reality. I would even just not mention this outside here to avoid ridiculous expectations and anger”

“Mel is right, sorry, I got carried away” said Nora “we can just say we are testing for diseases, which is not a lie”

Maria sighed and then sat.

“This is a lot to take in” said Maria

She looked at Tommy and Joel.

“But I guess if we accepted Joel here, I do not see why I should not accept a group of people who might bring about a cure to this, especially if you are honest about giving up on your initial plan, Abby”

“I am” said Abby firmly

“We can vouch for her” said Ellie

Dina nodded

“Yeah, definitely” said Dina “and for them too, we saved each other out there, could not have survived without them”

“What is going on here?” asked Tommy and pointed at Dina, Ellie and Abby. 

Dina and Ellie had their hands in Abby’s back and they abruptly released her and looked at each other nervously. Then they looked at Abby. Who sighed, annoyed.

“What do you mean?” asked Joel

“Well, something is happening among these three” said Tommy

“Stop saying nonsense” said Joel

“Can we talk about that some other day?” said Ellie “what we need to know is where can they all stay”

“And my friend here needs care, she’s expecting” said Nora “if possible I want to live with her”

“Nora, you don’t need to” said Mel

“I want to” said Nora

“Ok, thanks” said Mel and smiled at her sadly

“Before any of that, I need to know that Joel and Tommy here are not going to be causing problem about this” said Maria

“The only thing I want is for all of you to not mention that Ellie is immune until this is safe to do” said Joel

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Apart from that… If Ellie says these people are fine then I believe her, even if it’s her” said Joel looking at Abby

“She betrayed us after we saved her” said Tommy

“I would have done the same, had it been me, and you know it” said Joel 

Tommy looked down.

“Maybe” admitted Tommy

“Please, Tommy” said Ellie

Tommy seemed unconvinced but eventually he nodded.

“If it is that important to you” said Tommy

“Thank you” said Ellie

“Oh, by the way” said Dina and picked the bottles in Abby’s backpack “here you go”

She gave the bottles to Maria who looked at them appreciatively.

“Thanks” said Maria surprised “Look at you, bringing bribing presents and all”

“And these are for you” said Ellie taking the bottles from her backpack to Joel

“Thanks kiddo, never realized you knew about wine” said Joel taking the bottles

“I don’t” admitted Ellie “Abby does”

Joel was even more surprised. Abby felt everyone’s eyes on her and she just looked to the side, resolutely avoiding Joel’s face.

“Family tradition” said Abby and somehow the atmosphere was even more awkward after that

“Oh, ok” said Joel

“Very well”, interrupted Maria “let’s see about the house arrangements”

They discussed for some time and then decided to put them all in a house with two floors, while other houses would be made ready. Abby, Owen, Nora, Yara and Lev promised to work on the other house. Once the houses were ready, Abby and the kids decided to move in together while Owen, Nora and Mel would be in another house. Owen said he would stay until the baby was born and then move later to another house when Mel wanted him to do so. 

They took all their things and moved to the house. On the way there Jesse walked with them and asked Ellie and Dina several questions. It seemed that he was a good friend from both of them despite being Dina’s ex. Dina did not tell him about the pregnancy yet though. Ellie and Dina told Jesse some of what had happened and said that they had released Abby because her friends were in trouble but avoided mentioning anything about a vaccine or Ellie’s immunity. They organized the place and distributed the rooms. Mel and Nora were in one room downstairs, Owen in another, Yara and Lev shared a big room on the second floor and Abby chose another but felt this one was too big.

“Where are you going?” asked Dina when she saw Abby going towards the door.

“This room is too big, I will ask the kids if they don’t want to be here or if Mel and Nora want to move here instead” explained Abby

“Nope” said Ellie and went to close the door.

Ellie placed herself in front of it and looked at Abby with such an intensity Abby almost felt her knees were going to fail her. Abby swallowed.

“I can’t thank you enough” said Ellie “I am sure this must be hard for you. All these years and you do this for me… I can’t imagine”

“It’s ok…” said Abby looking at some random thing by the wall 

“No, it was an important gesture” said Dina and put a hand on Abby’s shoulder “I’m glad”

“Can’t really go ahead and kill my prospective father in law, can I?” joked Abby

Ellie chuckled but she knew that Abby was putting on a brave facade “I mean it Abby, I am incredibly thankful, I don’t think you know how thankful I am”

Ellie hugged her and Dina joined in the hug. There, right there Abby found that she couldn't keep it all inside anymore and she cried. They held her while she let it all out, all her tears, her self hatred, her shame, all that she had done all these years in an attempt to seek revenge. 

“It’s ok” said Dina as she caressed Abby’s back. Ellie just kissed her shoulder and caressed her, not saying anything. 

Eventually Abby pulled back and felt better. Ellie caressed her face and looked at her with a warm stare and then kissed her. It was sweet, slow and breathtaking. Then Ellie kissed DIna, in the same way she just kissed Abby. Abby was trying to recover air but seeing them both kiss almost made her as breathless as kissing any of them would. Then Dina kissed her and moved her to the bed, with Ellie behind Dina and kissing her neck. 

They walked backwards and Abby fell on the bed. Dina climbed on top of her and pressed her pelvis against Abby. Abby thought that she was going to come already after Dina did that. She gasped and Dina released her mouth but then went to Abby’s neck while Abby’s hands wandered over Dina’s body. She removed Dina’s clothes with Ellie’s help and feeling suddenly courageous, she moved on top of Dina and started kissing her neck, her breasts, her belly, then reached to her folds. Dina gave an appreciatively purr as if she were a pleased cat and then gasped and put a hand on Abby’s head and another on her shoulder as Abby went down on her. Ellie kissed and touched Dina while Abby tried to find a suitable rhythm and then found one where Dina would moan loudly and pressed her shoulder strongly with her hand, even pressing her nails into her skin. She knew there would be marks left but she did not care. After Dina came, Ellie tried to push Abby and be on top of her. Ellie moved her hands over Abby’s body and made her shiver and for a second Abby doubted and almost let Ellie push her to bed and ravage her but she was still feeling courageous so she went ahead and pushed Ellie to bed instead. Ellie smiled smugly.

“Making use of your strength, Abby?” said Ellie

Abby smiled and put her hands on top of Ellie’s pants and then she took them down. Ellie gasped and her smile faltered.

“Oh, I will” said Abby ferociously

Then she fingered Ellie until the smaller woman could not talk anymore. Dina was kissing Abby’s back and neck but Abby tried to focus, she wanted to get this right. She kissed Ellie and increased the rhythm of her fingers until Ellie came screaming.

“Shh” said Abby and tried to put a hand on Ellie’s mouth. But Ellie was fast and she started licking Abby’s fingers and causing her to shiver.

Both Dina and Ellie pushed her now and proceeded to take turns in kissing, touching, fingering and eating Abby out to the point where she had orgasmed so much she was exhausted. 

“I… can’t… anymore” said Abby in bed, sweaty and completely drained.

Dina and Ellie proceeded on themselves for a while until they got exhausted too. 

“You know… once I read that if you orgasm enough then your pregnancy can be more healthy” said Dina

“Sounds reasonable” said Ellie “I’m up for the challenge”

“What do you say?” asked Dina to Abby

Abby was still catching her breath.

“Oh, we’re totally doing this for your health, so selfless” joked Abby

Dina chuckled.

“You know, in that vein… for my health of course, Ellie and I should move here” said Dina

“What?” asked Abby

“It’s a suggestion… if you hate it so much” said Ellie “then we don’t”

“What about your old man? Wouldn’t it be awkward for him to come here? I mean, I am here” said Abby

“Normally I go to his place, and we watch movies” said Ellie

“You are welcome to come one day in the future” said Dina

“Pass” said Abby “for now at least,” eager to move away from that particular topic, Abby thought about what they had proposed earlier, “I guess it would be nice if both of you moved in” said Abby “but you two need to be more quiet here”

“Hey, that was your fault, you are getting good at this, babe, take it as a compliment” said Ellie

“Yeah, can’t help it if we have a hot muscular girlfriend” said Dina shrugging

Abby rolled her eyes.

“You are terrible, now please let’s just sleep” said Abby and covered herself.


	34. Ellie

Ellie sighed and then knocked the door. Joel opened the door and hugged her. 

"So glad you came" said Joel

Ellie nodded and entered. She had decided to come alone this time. Dina had understood and stayed over with Abby. Ellie felt slightly jealous but then again this was probably always going to be like this. She hoped that in time the jealousy would diminish and instead she could just enjoy being with both of them or knowing that someone could be there for any of them when Ellie was somewhere else.

“What do you want to watch?” asked Joel and showed her two options of 90s movies.

“This one” said Ellie choosing one at random

“Good choice. Now, let me show you something, I got something special for today” said Joel 

“What is it?” asked Ellie

Joel went to the kitchen and then he showed Ellie some orange grains, oil and a pot. Ellie looked at it, completely unaware of what the hell he meant or why was he so happy about those grains.

“So… you have some grains, looks like it was corn… very dried corn” said Ellie

“Just wait and see” said Joel and started preparing whatever food he was so eager to make Ellie try. 

He turned the fire on and let the food get ready. 

“It seems like… you two became closer. I mean Dina and you” said Joel

“Yeah” said Ellie “we did”

“And you both became friends with… her” said Joel 

Ellie nodded.

“How did that happen?” asked Joel

“Well… I guess it all started before we left already” said Ellie

She was about to continue when she heard a noise. She looked around and noticed that the sound came from the pot.

“Is that ok?” asked Ellie

Then she heard another similar sound, followed by another and another and more after that.

“What’s going on?” asked Ellie

“It’s ok” said Joel “it’s supposed to happen”

“Ok, if you say so” said Ellie

“You were telling me…” said Joel

“Oh, ok” said Ellie “I was saying that… we talked a lot, I wanted to know why she did what she did, and we ended up discussing other things, her life in Seattle, the groups she belonged to, books she read…” 

Ellie shook her head and shrugged.

“And then we decided to leave, try and find a way to make a cure… and then we kept saving each other from infected and people… It just happened. We just realized she was not what we initially thought” said Ellie “She is… good to those kids, she is not just this big killing machine, she is kind, and smart…”

Joel was looking at her with a curious and suspicious look. He then turned the fire off. Ellie still heard some noise coming from inside there.

“Are you sure that is fine?” asked Ellie “it sounds like infected trying to break from within”

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it” said Joel “so… you spend some time with her and she convinced you she can be trusted?”

“Look, I know how this sounds” said Ellie “you think I am naive but I know her. I know she almost killed you but she stopped, she didn’t kill you. And had she done that I would have put a bullet in her head or worse, I wouldn’t have let her live”

“Ellie… I am happy it did not happen, for obvious reasons but if one day it does happen… you know I crossed a lot of people, so it can happen… so if one day I am killed, I rather you not do that” said Joel

“What the fuck, Joel?” said Ellie “of course I would go and hunt your killer to the end of the earth if I had to”

“I hope we never have to go through that but if we do, I rather you live your live peacefully and let me go” said Joel “I don’t want that lonely, revenge filled life for you”

“Well, in that hypothetical scenario you wouldn’t be around to tell me off so I think I would chose myself whatever the hell I want to do” said Ellie

“I hope you choose wisely then” said Joel

Joel opened the lid and placed the food in another recipient. It was white now.

“This is popcorn, this was what we ate when we watched movies back in my days” said Joel

They sat and Ellie ate the popcorn while watching the movie. It wasn’t bad but Ellie did not know what was so interesting about this popcorn. Joel sure had some strange traditions. They watched the movie and commented briefly on it and then discussed other things. It was almost like before, almost normal but not quite. It was something at least, some sort of advancement towards normality.

They finished quite late and Ellie went back to the house. When she got in she realized someone was in the kitchen. 

“Hi” said Ellie

Abby turned around and replied, “Hi, just preparing something for Dina, she said she wanted muffins”

“What?” asked Ellie “it’s the middle of the night”

“She wants muffins” said Abby as if that settled the matter.

Abby opened the oven and took the muffins from there. They looked really nice.

“Vanilla?” asked Ellie

“And strawberry” said Abby “luckily we had that but Dina’s cravings are oddly specific”

“I was told they normally are” said Ellie

She came nearer and was almost behind Abby. She placed a hand on Abby’s waist and hugged her from behind.

“And if I ask you for oddly specific food one of these nights, would you prepare them too?” Ellie whispered to Abby

Abby chuckled.

“You know damn well I would not” replied Abby

“Hey, I’m getting jealous here” said Ellie jokingly. Sort of.

“Ellie” said Abby “Dina is expecting, she deserves more attention than you. And you just simply have to deal with it”

“I want to deal with you instead, can I?” teased Ellie in Abby’s ear. 

Ellie smiled when she felt Abby shiver at that.

“Ellie” said Abby “not now, I have to take these to Dina”

“They are hot, let them cool down” said Ellie 

Ellie gently turned Abby around and touched her face with her hands. Then she kissed her. Abby was receptive at first but then pulled back and looked down. Ellie was confused.

“What’s going on?” asked Ellie

Abby pressed her lips together and looked to the side. Still avoiding Ellie’s eyes.

“Are you angry at me for something?” asked Ellie

Abby sighed.

“No” said Abby

“That sounded like a yes” said Ellie

Abby said nothing and continued looking to the side.

“Are you upset that I am talking with Joel?” asked Ellie

“No” said Abby “for fuck’s sake no, I wouldn’t want you to stop having your dad in your life that would be… terrible” 

“Then what is it?” asked Ellie

“I guess I’m…” said Abby but it seemed that whatever she wanted to say was hard so she stopped for some seconds.

Ellie waited.

“I guess I am a bit jealous” said Abby “I wish I would also had a chance to talk with my dad”

“I’m sorry” said Ellie

“It’s not your fault” said Abby shaking her head “I guess I am a bit conflicted about you and Joel but… I will learn to deal with it… just be patient with me, ok?”

“Of course” said Ellie 

“I don’t want you to stop talking to him or anything it’s just that for me to be able to do that…” said Abby “I’m just not ready yet”

“I’m not asking you to do that” said Ellie

“And if Dina wants to go, that is fine too” said Abby

“But she didn’t want to today” said Ellie

“Did she stay here because I wasn’t going to go?” asked Abby and looked at Ellie

“No” said Ellie “that was not the reason”

“Then why?” asked Abby

“Because I wanted her to stay” said Ellie

“Why?” asked Abby

Ellie licked her lips and then sighed. She had never told this to Abby but maybe it was time she knew.

“Two years ago… I went to the hospital, I found some notes and some recordings… I found out the truth” said Ellie

“You didn’t know before that?” asked Abby

“No, Joel had told me there were dozens of immune people and that the fireflies had abandoned the idea of making a cure” said Ellie 

“Oh my god” said Abby and laid against the kitchen counter

“Yeah, I always thought it was fishy, why would he take me from the hospital when I was unconscious? I wanted to ask so many things and I wanted to talk with Marlene but he… he just lied” said Ellie and she almost cried. Ellie tried to recover her calm and then continued, “he finally confessed… that I would have died and that he stopped them. I told him we were done” said Ellie “but then… a night before you came, Dina and I were dancing and this bigot said something nasty to Dina and me because we kissed and Joel tried to defend me. I shouted at him”

“At the bigot?” asked Abby

“At Joel” clarified Ellie

“Oh” said Abby

“I later went to him and told him he should have let me die” said Ellie

“Ellie..” said Abby but Ellie put a hand up and stopped her.

“He said he did not regret it” said Ellie

“Yeah, he said the same to me” said Abby

“So… you see… my relationship with him… it’s a mess, that night I said to him that I would try to forgive him” said Ellie “and the reality is I am still trying… I had avoided him for two years and when you arrived… I thought that I would lose him, and that I wasted these years not talking to him but even after he survived… I am having a hard time connecting back to him. I also need time… I wanted some time alone with him” 

Abby looked down and nodded.

“I… I’m sorry Ellie, I am probably not making this any easier to you” said Abby

“For the record” said Ellie “I think you are worth it”

Abby smiled and blushed slightly. She extended one hand and Ellie took it. Abby gently pulled Ellie towards herself and hugged her. Ellie felt much better after that, in particular after she pulled back and Abby put her hands on Ellie’s cheeks and kissed her.

“Sorry I was in a foul mood” said Abby after that “I also think you are worth it”

Ellie smiled at her and kissed her once more. They kissed once, twice, three and more times and then Ellie put her tongue inside Abby but Abby pushed Ellie back, gasping for air.

“Uhm, this is nice but I need to take the muffins to Dina”

“Ok, later then” said Ellie smugly.

Taking the opportunity that Abby was giving her back to the muffins, Ellie took one muffin and before Abby could stop her she ate half of it.

“This is good” said Ellie after she swallowed it

“What the fuck, Ellie?” said Abby, indignantly

“She’s not going to eat all of that” said Ellie and ventured to grab another

“Oh no, you won’t” said Abby, took the muffins and extended her arms up, to the point where Ellie would not be able to grab them.

Abby quickly went up the stairs with Ellie following her closely.

“You won’t be able to defend them forever” teased Ellie

“Watch me” replied Abby

Dina opened the door of their room and was about to complain when Abby entered the room and closed the door behind her.

“Hey, open up” complained Ellie

She heard them talk from the other side.

“What is going on, why are you making such a noise?” complained Dina “and why are you closing the door on Ellie?”

“She’s eating your comfort food” explained Abby

“Ellie, how dare you?” said Dina

“Let me in” complained Ellie knocking on the door

“Ellie, stop making such noise, you will wake the children up” said Dina 

“Let me in then” said Ellie

“No, because you don’t know how to behave” said Abby

“Oh, I’ll show you good behaviour” said Ellie menacingly

“Ellie, that doesn’t make sense” said Abby

“If you promise to not eat my sweets unless I let you, then maybe you can come in” said Dina

“What’s going on?” asked Yara, rubbing her eyes

“Oh, sorry Yara” whispered Ellie “it’s just Abby and Dina, they are confiscating the food and not letting me in the room”

“What, why? Should we go out tomorrow and hunt?” asked Yara worriedly

Dina opened the door.

“I’m not confiscating the food. Don’t say this bullshit to Yara” said Dina

Yara seemed confused

“It was just a joke, sorry” said Ellie “please go back to bed”

“Ok, but can you maybe not make that much noise?” asked Yara

“Sure” said Abby “sorry we woke you up”

Yara nodded and went back to bed.

Ellie went to her bedroom although Dina was looking at her annoyed.

“It was just a joke” said Ellie

“You know they don’t understand those yet” said Abby

“Even less when sleepy” said Dina

“I’ll be more careful” said Ellie

“Fine” said Dina and took two muffins, she gave one to Abby and the other to Ellie

“I don’t get it” said Ellie “first I have to fight for this now you just give me one?”

Abby and Dina looked at each other and winked. 

“You are not the only one who likes to tease others” said Abby and shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Dina asks you to make muffins at 01 am, you go and do that

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcomed! :)


End file.
